Hard Cover, 224 Pages
Published in UK by Square Peg, A member of the Random House Group
Order on Amazon (co.uk and also .com) £14.99 (approximately €19)
US Release Date - 25 September, 2012 by Plume, A member of the Penguin Group
Just in case you don’t have enough to worry about, writer Art Lester and artist/cartoonist/animator Steven Appleby have just published their new book, The Coffee Table Book of Doom.
As you laugh your way to your fallout shelter germ mask firmly in place, Lester and Appleby alert you to everything from religious and political doom to medical and technological catastrophe and beyond.
But never fear, they also give us a glimmer of hope by reminding us of many of the impending doomsayers’ predictions that have never materialized. Remember Y2K and the fundamentalist preachers who were so confident that the world will end that they have even predicted the exact dates and times? So far they have been wrong . . . but as The Coffee Table Book of Doom reminds us - it can always happen.
The black humor in the book make it a worthy read, and the pair have done their homework so the facts and data are frighteningly accurate. You’ll learn a lot about Eco Doom, Geographical Doom, and the ever popular Alien Invasion while having a hearty laugh.
The page numbers count down from page 199 to 0 and the final chapter beginning on page 27 give us suggestions for living with doom. Such tips as what to tell your children, how to spend your last 24 hours on Earth, and the meaning of doom will make sure that you are well prepared no matter which doom you meet.
Art and Steven are the perfect pair to alert us to impending disaster. In his words, Art Lester “reluctantly grew up in the American South” which is enough to prepare anyone for doom. After a career as a successful journalist, he is now a Unitarian Minister in London, which should give him plenty of firsthand knowledge of doom and gloom.
Steven Appleby is the author of the internationally acclaimed Captain Star comic and the creator of a series, Small Birds Singing, which ran for 8 years in The London Times about the unusually surreal doings of the occupants of an English country house which has now been turned into a series of delightful animated films by Steven and his cousin Linda McCarthy.
You should run right out and pick up a copy of The Coffee Table Book of Doom, and the sooner the better. After all, you can’t be sure that you will even have time to finish reading it before the end comes.
