Apocalypse 2012: An optimist investigates the end of civilization

Is the world really coming to an end in 2012? According to the Bible, the I Ching and the Mayans it is. And, wouldn't you know it, there are already several rock bands, including Houston's very own Downfall 2012, getting ready to party. Apocalypse 2012 is cheerful sceptic Laurence E Joseph’s investigation into the 2012 Doomsday phenomenon.

With its mixture of hard science, investigative reportage and cast of colourful characters, ‘Apocaplyse 2012’ is ‘Fast Food Nation’ for the terminally paranoid.

Journalist and science writer Laurence E. Joseph is our incisive and witty guide unravelling the religious, astrological and mystical prophecies behind the potentially earth-shattering events of 2012. And at the core of this book is Joseph's investigation into the growing number of scientific researchers trying to figure out why conditions around our planet are becoming so bizarre.

His adventures include:

• Hooking up with the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement whose cheerful motto 'Live Long and Die Out' is now available as a tattoo.
• Meeting the scientists who are trying to figure out why the present state of the sun is so worrisome – is it just going through a phase or is something major going on?
• Visiting Yellowstone National Park to see whether the seething supervolcano could soon stop civilisation dead in its tracks.
• Exploring the possibility of a terrorist attack that could plunge the whole Northern Hemisphere into the equivalent of a nuclear winter.

So, if 2012 really is going to be a year of unprecedented catastrophe, what can we do to increase our odds of surviving it? Should we head for the Kentucky hills or hightail it to Western Africa, where an Australian Doomesday 2012 enthusiast is already staking his claim, or perhaps we'd be better blasting off for solar systems unknown?