Apocalypse 2012: A Scientific Investigation into Civilization's End

Don't look up! It won't help. You can't get out of the way, you can't dig a hole deep enough to hide. The end is coming, and there's nothing you can do about it.

So why read this book? Because you can't look away when not just the religious fanatics are saying we're all going to be destroyed but the scientists are in on the act too. Here's what they're saying: We're a million years over due for a mass extinction.

The sun at radiation minimum is acting much worse than at solar maximum, and one misdirected spewing of plasma could fry us in an instant. The magnetic field—which shields us from harmful radiation—is developing a mysterious crack.

Our solar system is entering an energetically hostile part of the galaxy.

The Yellowstone supervolcano is getting ready to blow, and if it does, we can look forward to nuclear winter and 90 percent annihilation.

The Maya, the world's greatest timekeepers ever, say it's all going to stop on December 21, 2012.

So, see? There's nothing you can do, but you might as well sit back and enjoy the show.

You'll get a good chuckle. That's why you should read this book.