End of Days (Chris Jennings)

Really excellent book connecting the long running take over of premillennial theology of evangelical beliefs throughout the 20th century and how that, plus other economic factors like the Farm Crisis converged leading more folks into more apocalyptic beliefs. The author does a great job of explaining the hold that these beliefs had on folks for those of us who were able to grow up in Christianity but without these apocalyptic beliefs. It’s also really just compellingly written. I knew what would happen but could not stop reading.

I’m not really sure who this is for because it’s really specific but truly excellent. I’ll certainly be using his explanation of pre v. postmillenialism to help my student understand the Antebellum reform movements and the Second Great Awakening. If you liked Belew’s Bring the War Home, this is more of the religious angle of the growth of the far right militia/survivalist movement. If you’ve ever heard someone describe Ruby Ridge as government overreach or Randy Weaver as anything less than racist, this excellently dispels those notions.