2012 - Before and After

Finally, the 2012 buzz has caught on to the main stream media. Here is a page of the article cover on the 2012 subject. This article appear in Starmag (the Sunday Star), READS section on 08 Nov 2009. It was written by Elizabeth Tai and here is the excerpt of it.

Hollywood blockbuster 2012 is premiering in Malaysia on Thursday, 12 Nov 2009 but publishers have long been prepared for curious readers on the lookout for books on this mysterious date. A report in the Sunday Star by Elizabeth Tai purportedly a whole publishing industry has sprouted around the phenomenon.

Many 2012 authors seem tethered to another dimension and it was quite a task for Elizabeth to sift some down to earth works from the piles of books. She succeed in doing so to short lists some books that will enlighten the subject on 2012 minus the mumbo jumbo.

The 2012 Story The Myth, Fallacies and Truths Behind the Most Intriguing Date in History Author: John Major Jenkins Publisher: Penguin; 482 pages ISBN: 978-1585427666

JENKINS is a pioneer of the 2012 movement and has written nine books on the subject. But he is frustrated that his work have been “consistently distorted and abused in the nefarious doomsday agendas” of television shows.

This book is his attempt to set things right. In the chapter, “The 2012 Explosion”, he grumbles that some authors such as Lawrence E. Joseph have misinterpreted his work, and frets that the co-opting and distortion of his ideas in works of fiction and documentaries will create a false truth that the public will find very difficult to shake.
Jenkins dismantles the modern theories about 2012 – he, for one, doesn’t believe that 2012 spells doomsday – and explains the significance of the date in relation to Mayan astronomy, prophecy and metaphysical philosophy.

You’ll get a good grounding and understanding of the Mayan calendar and can probably look at the various doomsday theories surrounding 2012 with a more critical eye.
The 2012 Story is a dense and detailed piece of work, but Jenkins’ writing can be too technical for the layman at times. Still, it’s one of the more rational and less alarmist books out there on this issue.

APOCALYPSE 2012 An Investigation into Civilization’s End Author: Lawrence E. Joseph Publisher: Broadway; 264 pages (ISBN: 978-0767924481)

MANY of us can relate to Lawrence Joseph; he’s an ordinary Joe (who happens to be a journalist), not a scientist or an anthropologist, who decided to go around the world to learn more about 2012.

He visited a modern-day Mayan shaman, set out on a fishing boat in Iceland, and headed for Siberia to visit a geophysicist. Through his travels, he discovers more about what could happen in 2012.

However, Joseph tends to wander off track at times. I’m puzzled by his habit of including random bits of personal anecdotes that have nothing to do with 2012. Example: What does his infatuation with an old flame who preferred Star Trek’s Spock to him have anything to do with 2012?

These are minor distractions, thankfully, as we are suitably entertained by tales of his trips.  At the end, however, Joseph seems undecided about whether to take the 2012 prophecies seriously or make fun of them. As a result, this book is uneven in tone, even if it is really fun to read.

2012: Science or Superstition Author: Alexandra Bruce Publisher: Disinformation (ISBN: 978-1934708286)

BRUCE takes a more sceptical approach to the whole 2012 phenomenon, saying that it has spawned “cottage industries and a literary-subgenre”. The author of nine books had previously written Beyond the Secret, in which she insists that one can’t make the universe do things for you just by thinking positively.

In this book, Bruce explores and rebuts the scientific and prophetic theories about 2012. And she does it in a light and simple manner; as a result, this book is a breeze to read.
It was fun reading about the “catastrophobia” that 2012 has caused – 2012 often translates into money for some industries and Roland Emmerich’s 2012 movie is even mentioned.

And like most books on this issue, we learn about the Mayans, and laugh at the more bizarre theories about them. (Are they from outer space?)

What’s illuminating is the section on the evolution of the modern 2012 phenomenon: How has a date in an ancient Mayan calendar become such a pop cultural force today?
A highly entertaining and informative book; if you want to know everything there is to know about 2012 and still keep your head firmly planted on your shoulders, let Bruce be your guide.

BEYOND 2012 Catastrophe or Awakening Author: Geoff Stray Publisher: Bear & Company; pages (ISBN: 978-1597430971)

STRAY, who has been researching 2012 since 1982, hopes to “decrease anxiety that the end of the world is approaching” with this book, which is actually an extension of his earlier work – a booklet called Beyond 2012, which evolved into the website, www.diagnosis2012.co.uk.

This book is a factual compilation about the many theories surrounding 2012; it is refreshingly agenda-free so you can draw your own conclusions. With so much (often contradictory) information floating out there, it’s nice to have everything in one publication.

THE MYSTERY OF 2012 Predictions, Prophecies and Possibilities Author: Various Publisher: Sounds True; 465 pages (ISBN: 978-1591796749)

THIS book is a bit of an odd duck. Sober essays on Mayan culture such as Robert K. Sitler’s 2012 and the Maya share the same book spine with essays about how “God is producing godlings” (A Vision for Humanity by Barbara Marx Hubbard).

Mystery has a bizarre mix of essays, certainly, but it gives readers easy access to the thoughts and ideas of many 2012 thinkers – some who are quite scholarly, and others who are, to put it bluntly, simply kooky.

Reading it can be a challenge, however. Some of the essays are technical and painfully dry. Some speak in such metaphysical and esoteric terms, you wonder what in the world they’re trying to say.

However, a few good essays here and there will fill you with the urge to do something more positive for the world. A book that definitely covers the more “spiritual” and metaphysical side of 2012

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