Apocalypse highlights archeological research to explore society-changing events from pre-history and history, with a particular focus on the effect of climate changes on communities. The prose was lucid and engaging and all scientific concepts and contexts were explained thoroughly without bogging down the narrative. This was a propulsive read for me, despite the heavy subject matter. I especially appreciated that chapters were interspersed with slice-of-life sections, where real and imagined individuals reflected on the circumstances of the apocalypse discussed. . This both broke up the rhythm of the text and added a necessary warmth and human element to the discussion of large-scale destruction.

While I appreciated the focus on hope, community, innovation, etc., it still occasionally felt like the impacts and complexities of apocalypse were bring glossed over. Like each concluding paragraph kind of hit me over the head with the thesis again (apocalypses are times of radical change) in a way that felt hopeful, but sometimes flippant.

A great read-a-like for The Dawn of Everything or I Want a Better Catastrophe.