Press Release: “Aftermath” by Lawrence E. Joseph
AFTERMATH
A Guide to Preparing for and Surviving Apocalypse 2012
By LAWRENCE E. JOSEPH
Author of Apocalypse 2012
Between the volcano erupting in Iceland, the earthquakes in both Haiti and Chile, and the tsunami that threatened Hawaii, all happening in 2010, it seems that the world is slowly falling apart. In his previous book Apocalypse 2012, Lawrence Joseph, a journalist and science consultant, evaluated the likelihood of a planet-wide catastrophe in the year 2012 by presenting convincing scientific evidence of looming chaos and mass extinction. Now, with the recent alarming frequency of natural disasters, apocalypse doesn’t seem so far-fetched.
In his new book, AFTERMATH: A Guide to Preparing for and Surviving Apocalypse 2012 (Broadway Books; On Sale: July 13, 2010; Hardcover; $23.99), Lawrence Joseph combines investigative reporting, historical research, and practical advice to help control the damage when the world as we know it ends in 2012.
According to Joseph, political, economic, and natural forces are headed for deadly convergence. Apocalypse is in the air; catastrophe has become the general expectation rather than the outlier event. The sun continues its wild vacillations from historic highs to historic lows, confounding all expectations as it surges toward its culmination in late 2012. Seismic/volcanic disturbances have reached a new level of interaction, where seemingly isolated earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes trigger each other. Global-warming manifests in unprecedented floods, storms and other extreme climate events. Man-made chaos, from warfare to oil spills, continues unabated, perhaps even accelerating in unwitting synergy with the increasingly tumultuous natural world. Are the cataclysms approaching a climax in 2012?
When it comes to formulating a response to an impending apocalypse, the field of options is narrow: what else, really, is there to do but party or pray? If the great “off” switch in the sky will indeed be thrown on 12/21/12, (the Mayan prophecy end date), people assume that there isn’t much anyone can do to cushion the blow. To the contrary, Lawrence Joseph argues that there is plenty of constructive action to take now at the personal, local, national, and global levels, individually and collectively. This is not the time to throw up our hands. Things that can help include:
- Inspire Congress to enact legislation requiring that geomagnetic resistors be installed in every neighborhood to avoid a complete power-grid meltdown. (H-5026, the bill that will mandate protections for the electric power grid from solar EMP assault, just passed the full House of Representatives on June 10, 2010.)
- Campaign for the government to contribute more money to the budget for The Space Weather Prediction Center, the world’s principal supplier of space weather information, which will help us determine exactly when we can expect a catastrophic space weather storm.
- Begin training the World Health Organization now so that they are prepared to take on any possible plague that might come with the apocalypse.
- Help fund research of our satellite systems, which are likely to collapse in 2012 due to a pummeling from solar flares.
Written in an accessible voice and backed by scientific research, AFTERMATH takes readers beyond the end of the world and helps them understand and prepare for the imminent damage in our future.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Journalist and science consultant LAWRENCE E. JOSEPH has written about science, nature, and religion for the New York Times, Salon.com, and the HuffingtonPost.com and is the author of four books. His research on the science and mythology of Apocalypse 2012 during the past several years has led him to work with scientists, shamans, and philosophers on five continents. Joseph lives in Los Angeles with his two children. For more information, please visit his website: www.lawrenceejoseph.com.
AFTERMATH
A Guide to Preparing for and Surviving Apocalypse 2012
By Lawrence E. Joseph
Published by Broadway Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.
Hardcover; $23.99; 288 pages
ISBN 978-0-7679-3078-9
For more information about AFTERMATH or to schedule an interview with Lawrence Joseph, please contact Caroline Sill at 212-782-8943 or csill@randomhouse.com.
