08-13-2020, 03:12 PM
The author experiences, as related in the introduction, existential anxiety after the birth of his son, so he decides to research apocalyptic issues to come to terms with it. He opens with chapters about doomsday preppers, bunker real estate, New Zealand as sanctuary for the super rich, and Mars colonization. He closes with a chapter about our relationship with nature, where he throws in a little on climate change, and another chapter where he tours the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
The first four chapters are very good (actually chapters 2-5 since 1 is the mediocre intro), the last two weak IMO. He has great analysis of preppers and bunker real estate, with the idea that they are really prematurely giving up on civilization, community and culture in favor of selfishness. The chapters on New Zealand and Mars were if anything more disturbing, perhaps largely due to Thiel, who said "freedom is incompatible with democracy," and believes that the super rich should not have to pay taxes, and should be able to remake society as they see fit.
Ultimately it wasn't really about apocalypse but more about prepping for it. He says little about climate change, and nothing about pandemics. Nevertheless, it was a pretty good read, and it read quickly. He also has a book about transhumanists, which might be more interesting.
The first four chapters are very good (actually chapters 2-5 since 1 is the mediocre intro), the last two weak IMO. He has great analysis of preppers and bunker real estate, with the idea that they are really prematurely giving up on civilization, community and culture in favor of selfishness. The chapters on New Zealand and Mars were if anything more disturbing, perhaps largely due to Thiel, who said "freedom is incompatible with democracy," and believes that the super rich should not have to pay taxes, and should be able to remake society as they see fit.
Ultimately it wasn't really about apocalypse but more about prepping for it. He says little about climate change, and nothing about pandemics. Nevertheless, it was a pretty good read, and it read quickly. He also has a book about transhumanists, which might be more interesting.
the hands that guide me are invisible