The end of time : the Maya mystery of 2012

I was looking forward to this book just because of the sheer volume of psuedoscience and misinformation out there. Thankfully this book cuts through most of the fluff out there and sets the record straight in a relatively short volume. That being said, I was expecting much more in the way of actual analysis of the Mayan culture. Aveni is clear and articulate throughout, but I see this book taking a wrong turn in two ways. First, he spends a lot of time discussing end of time, apocalypse, etc myths. This is great background information; a consistency throughout human history of what is essentially human paranoia. As if the human condition has some part in our need to seek doom and gloom in our lives. While this is important to establishing that 2012 paranoia is just another made up event for people to spread fear, it tends to be the driving theme in the novel. From an expert in Mayan astronomy, I would have expected more analysis of the Maya and less of overall human condition themes. Second, there's an inherent assumption that readers of this book have taken a look at other 2012 writers. The nitty gritty analysis section tended to be more of a refutation of other authors' work. While this is important to show how other authors are liberally interpreting the data, it doesn't do me much good when I haven't been initiated into the world of 2012 paranoia. Regardless of my nitpickings, I would recommend this book for anyone wanting some factual and social context regarding 2012. However, I really felt like this book is the cliff's notes or layman's version of a much greater work waiting to be written. While reading I really found myself wanting more information, more data, so that I could draw the same conclusions that Aveni does. I wanted to know more about the Mayan calendar, how the 2012 date came about, what the Maya say specifically about this time period, etc. And I suspect that many of my questions would remain unanswered due to a lack of evidence. December 21, 2012. The Internet, bookshelves, and movie theaters are full of prophecies, theories, and predictions that this date marks the end of the world, or at least the end of the world as we know it. Whether the end will result from the magnetic realignment of the north and south poles, bringing floods, earthquakes, death, and destruction; or from the return of alien caretakers to enlighten or enslave us; or from a global awakening, a sudden evolution of Homo sapiens into non-corporeal beings - theories of great, impending changes abound. In The End of Time , award-winning astronomer and Maya researcher Anthony Aveni explores these theories, explains their origins, and measures them objectively against evidence unearthed by Maya archaeologists, iconographers, and epigraphers. He probes the latest information astronomers and earth scientists have gathered on the likelihood of Armageddon and the oft-proposed link between the Maya Long Count cycle and the precession of the equinoxes. He then expands on these prophecies to include the broader context of how other cultures, ancient and modern, thought about the "end of things" and speculates on why cataclysmic events in human history have such a strong appeal within American pop culture. December 21, 2012. The Internet, bookshelves, and movie theaters are full of prophecies, theories, and predictions that this date marks the end of the world, or at least the end of the world as we know it. Whether the end will result from the magnentic realignment of the north and south poles, bringing floods, earthquakes, death, and destruction; or from the return of alien caretakers to enlighten or enslave us; or from a global awakening, a sudden evolution of Homo sapiens into non-corporeal beings—theories of great, impending changes abound. In The End of Time, award-winning astronomer and Maya researcher Anthony Aveni explores these theories, explains their origins, and measures them objectively against evidence unearthed by Maya archaeologists, iconographers, and epigraphers. He probes the latest information astronomers and earth scientists have gathered on the likelihood of Armageddon and the oft-proposed link between the Maya Long Count cycle and the precession of the equinoxes. He then expands on these prophecies to include the broader context of how other cultures, ancient and modern, thought about the “end of things” and speculates on why cataclysmic events in human history have such a strong appeal within American pop culture. Contents......Page 8 Foreword......Page 10 Preface......Page 16 Acknowledgments......Page 20 1: Introduction: How Dylan got me started......Page 24 2: What's in Store? A user's guide to 2012 Maya Prohpecies......Page 32 3: What we know about the Maya and thier ideas about Creation......Page 58 4: The Calendar: Jewel of the Maya Crown......Page 88 5: The Astronomy Behind the Current Maya Creation......Page 108 6: What goes around: Other ends of time......Page 140 7: Only in America......Page 158 8: Epilogue: Anticipation......Page 186 The Internet, Bookshelves, And Movie Theaters Are Full Of Prophecies, Theories, And Predictions That December 21, 2012, Marks The End Of The World. Award-winning Astronomer And Mayan Researcher Aveni Explores These Theories, Explains Their Origins, And Measures Them Objectively Against Evidence Unearthed By Maya Archaeologists, Iconographers, And Epigraphers. Anthony Aveni. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.