While Joseph doesn't accept Mayan prophecies as divine decree, he isn't quite prepared to dismiss them outright. In his view, 2012 is "best understood as the crescendo of a metamorphic process already under way," because "apocalypse is in the air." Describing himself as a "doomsayer," not a "naysayer," he eschews global warming as the greatest threat to mankind today in favor of a massive burst of solar activity, a crack in the earth's magnetic shield that destroys the world's electric-generating power, acts of terrorism, a nuclear event, or any number of other grim scenarios with consequences devastating enough to challenge the global population's will to survive. Joseph sees the prophecies associated with 12/21/12 as "a compelling shorthand for the possibility of civilization-altering cataclysm and/or revelation within our lifetimes," and urges readers to begin developing "a family emergency plan now" that includes insuring a supply of fresh water, food, weapons (a matter of personal choice), and spirituality ("unless you're into void and oblivion"). With this rehash of his previous alert (Apocalypse 2012: An Investigation Into Civilization's End), Joseph tills familiar ground and straddles the precarious line between real historical investigation and "sky is falling" hysteria. (July)