Scan barcode
Reviews
Notes from an Apocalypse: A Personal Journey to the End of the World and Back by Mark O'Connell
jdintr's review against another edition
4.0
I misjudged this book after reading a review in the New York Times. I was expecting more of a travelogue that would take me to the world's bunkers and get-away locales.
Instead O'Connell shares his own fears about apocalypse--primarily environmental, but also acknowledging other sources, like the viral apocalypse that allowed me to expand my reading this summer, even as I worked less.
The reader, then, is illumined as O'Connell's mind comprehends the scenarios--from viewing Peter Thiel's New Zealand getaway to the underground silos in South Dakota. The further O'Connell gets, the more he begins to doubt the ideas behind apocalypticism itself: that the individual has to survive, that The End is somehow out of our control. This aspect was one I really appreciated.
Instead O'Connell shares his own fears about apocalypse--primarily environmental, but also acknowledging other sources, like the viral apocalypse that allowed me to expand my reading this summer, even as I worked less.
The reader, then, is illumined as O'Connell's mind comprehends the scenarios--from viewing Peter Thiel's New Zealand getaway to the underground silos in South Dakota. The further O'Connell gets, the more he begins to doubt the ideas behind apocalypticism itself: that the individual has to survive, that The End is somehow out of our control. This aspect was one I really appreciated.
koreilly's review against another edition
3.0
The thing about picking a large and nebulous topic such as "the apocalypse" and just sort of Feature Article writing your way through it, is you find some interesting facts and wild characters but you never really land on a good solid through line. There are a lot of ideas in here I liked and the writing is good but it just doesn't come together as a cohesive whole enough for me.
liberrydude's review against another edition
4.0
O’Connell muses philosophically on the end of the world and takes some road trips. He goes to a remote corner of southwestern South Dakota to checkout apocalyptic condos. He visits the bolt-hole for the world’s billionaires-New Zealand. He does some catastrophic tourism at the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. He attends some symposiums on the colonization of Mars. He further delves into the exclusively male world of preppers. It’s an insightful look into the always looming end of the world and our anxiety as a species about it.
Covid, climate change, nuclear war are all discussed. “It was always the end of the world for someone, somewhere.” But the author realizes too that “I am the apocalypse of which I speak.”
Covid, climate change, nuclear war are all discussed. “It was always the end of the world for someone, somewhere.” But the author realizes too that “I am the apocalypse of which I speak.”
benrogerswpg's review against another edition
3.0
It was okay.
Not too interesting, but still fine enough.
3/5
Not too interesting, but still fine enough.
3/5
k_a_b_e's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.0
My expectations were maybe too high after being enthralled by O'Connell's similarly themed Guardian long-read [Feb 2018] and wishing it were a book. The pace, for me, was frustratingly halted by rehashing the same emotional point over and over. Parents might find this unfiltered anxiety relatable and cathartic, so maybe that's the point. Personally prefer a brutal edit, but my smarter peers have described it as 'crack-up', 'hilarious', etc. So ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
georgina_bawden's review against another edition
4.0
I really loved Mark's previous book on transhumanism, and this was in his same thoughtful, personal and witty style. It is mostly about his own apocalyptic anxiety and climate-malaise. I listened to this one and he read it himself and I found myself in the rare situation of wishing he hadn't- his delivery was very deadpan and he managed to suck the joy out of his own wry jokes! It was interesting and thoughtful, but the ending seemed a little trite. Perhaps being publishing into a pandemic did the book a disservice.
elise_dragon13's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
4.0