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Cosmos, Chaos and the World to Come

The Ancient Roots of Apocalyptic Faith
By Norman Cohn
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Norman Cohn's Cosmos, Chaos and the World to Come explores the origins of apocalyptic faith, tracing the belief in a perfect future where good triumphs over evil back two thousand years. The book examines ancient worldviews from Egypt, Mesopotamia, and India, the contributions of Iranian and Jewish prophets, and early Christian visions of heaven on earth, illuminating a pivotal moment in human consciousness. The second edition features a completely rewritten and expanded final chapter on Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in religion, spirituality, history, and apocalyptic beliefs, as well as scholars and students of ancient and modern religious thought.

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The view that good will overcome evil and lead to a perfect world is held by many religions and races. This work investigates the origins of this belief through the world views of Egypt, Mesopotamia and India, through Iranian and Jewish prophets, to early Christian beliefs.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In this engrossing book, the author of the classic work The Pursuit of the Millennium investigates the origins of apocalyptic faith—the belief in a perfect future, when the forces of good are victorious over the forces of evil. Norman Cohn takes us back two thousand years to the world views of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and India, the innovations of Iranian and Jewish prophets and sages, and the earliest Christian imaginings of heaven on earth, and he illuminates a major turning point in the history of human consciousness.

For this second, corrected edition, the final chapter, on Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians, has been wholly rewritten and extended.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised for its combination of scholarly rigour and readability, this book is described as "learned, fascinating and readable" (Independent on Sunday) and "a cool draught of wise and intelligent scholarship" (Financial Times). Reviewers highlight its appeal not only to students of ancient religion but also those interested in modern apocalyptic thought (New York Review of Books). Its breadth encompasses history, archaeology, mythology, and religion, making it highly recommended for academic collections (Library Journal). The study is noted for its incisiveness and lucidity (Kirkus Reviews).

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780300090888

Publisher: Yale University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 11 August 2001

Country: United States

Imprint: Yale University Press

Edition: 2nd Revised edition

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 127.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 295g

Pages: 256

Collections

Non-Fiction Norman Cohn Religion & Spirituality

About the Author

Norman Cohn is professor emeritus at the University of Sussex and author of Noah's Flood: The Genesis Story in Western Thought (ISBN 0 300 07648 7, 11.50 pb.), also published by Yale University Press.

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