The End is Always Near: Apocalyptic Moments, from the Bronze Age Collapse to Nuclear Near Misses

A difficult work to rate! Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast is the finest work in the entire medium, 5* all the way, so I am comparing this to that, and it falls a little short. But if you have not experienced the podcast, this is a great introduction work - best enjoyed in audiobook form as Dan's inflection and skill as a performer really brings the strengths of the work through.

Those strengths are vivid portrayals of the human experience in extreme situations, the subject matter of this book loosely being the fall of civilizations, including our own. His position as a fan of history, not a historian, is both self deprecating and allows for a sweeping scope that raises more questions than answers - as alluded to in the introduction. His great skill is in breaking the follower out of our modern mindset and immersing us in a lost past. Even if that past was only decades ago.

Fans of the podcast will recognize the themes and some of the material immediately. In fact several chapters are explored in greater detail in existent podcasts. Others have more space here.

All are riveting and nothing is worth skipping over, little known facts abound, harrowing darkness pervades, the questions "what would you do? How did they feel? What did they think?" hit hard, repeatedly.

Well referenced, encouraging of further reading - on both history and of common assumptions, and very entertaining, I only wish it was longer!