Description
Book SynopsisMillennialists through the ages have looked forward to the apocalyptic moment that will radically transform society into heaven on earth. They have delivered withering critiques of their own civilizations and promised both the impending annihilation to the forces of evil and the advent of a perfect society. And all their promises have invariably failed. We tend, therefore, to dismiss these prophets of doom and salvation as crackpots and madmen, and not surprisingly historians of our secular era have tended to underestimate their impact on our modern world. Now, Richard Landes offers a lucid and ground-breaking analysis of this widely misunderstood phenomenon. This long-awaited study shows that many events typically regarded as secular--including the French Revolution, Marxism, Bolshevism, Nazism--not only contain key millennialist elements, but follow the apocalyptic curve of enthusiastic launch, disappointment and re-entry into normal time. Indeed, as Landes examines the explicit mill
Trade Review[A] fascinating survey of millennialism and apocalyptic beliefs. * Paul Richardson, Church of England Newspaper *
an immense and wide-ranging book ... My imagination urges me to approve Landes's ambition and taste for experiment, for breadth, for a well-turned phrase, a striking image, and for challenging existing orthodoxies * Andrew Gow, American Historical Review *
Table of ContentsPreface ; Part I: Introduction: Roosters, Owls, Bats ; 1. The Varieties of the Millennial Experience ; 2. Roosters and Owls: On the Dynamics of the Apocalyptic Curve ; 3. Bats and Turkeys: Historians and Recovering of the Millennial Past ; Part II: Tribal Millennialism ; 4. Suicidal Millennialism: Xhosa Cattle Slaying (1856-7) ; 5. Commodity Millennialism: Papuan Cargo Cults (20th century) ; Part III: Agrarian Millennialism ; 6. Imperial Millennialism: Akhenaten (1360-47 BCE) ; 7. Murderous Millennialism: Taiping (1850-64 CE) ; Part IV: Modern (Secular) Millennialism ; 8. Civil Polities and the Dismantling of the Prime Divider ; 9. Democratic Millennialism: French Revolution (1789-1815) ; 10. Egalitarian Millennialism: Marxism (19th century) ; 11. Totalitarian Millennialism: Soviet Revolution (1917-35) ; 12. Genocidal Millennialism: Nazis (1933-45) ; Part V: Post-Modern Millennialism ; 13. Narcissistic Millennialism: UFOs (1946-) ; 14. Enraged Millennialism: Global Jihad (1979-) ; Conclusion: The Suicide of Reason at the Dawn of the Third Millennium?
