We can run, but we can’t hide. Eventually we will meet our Doom, individually as well as collectively. And there are a variety of ways in which it might happen, with some more plausible than others. Many believe that The End will come in December of this year in keeping with certain interpretations of an ancient Mayan calendar system. Others predict it will come by way of eco-catastrophe, thermonuclear war or global financial collapse.

But we might as well have fun as we wait for Doom to tap us on the shoulder, right? And with that I introduce you to the new volume The Coffee Table Book of Doom (Plume, 2012). This is an entertaining and well done volume, that also includes a lot of serious material that can depress the reader when reminded that, short of transcendent intervention, one of the Doom scenarios presented in the volume will eventually play out. The promotional material with the book raises related questions:

* Could an alien invasion really happen?

* Is every creature on Earth becoming female, leading to the end of mankind?

* Is the human gene pool getting weaker?

* Can earthquakes start in outer space?

* What should you pack in your GOOD (Get Out of Dodge) bags?

Fully illustrated in two-color, THE COFFEE TABLE BOOK OF DOOM warns us that it’s not just the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse we have to worry about. This tongue-in-cheek informational book combines fascinating and often alarming facts with each chapter committed to the different ways of how mankind as we know it will come to a grisly end..

Whether we’re baked, fried, frozen or sucked dry…the end is near. We might as well laugh about it.

The popularity of programs like The Walking Dead and Doomsday Preppers remind us that apocalypticism is constantly on our minds. The Coffee Table Book of Doom is a nice contribution to this pop culture niche that is also a growing industry. It is also a book that enables us to have fun and whistle during our stroll through the graveyard.