In this book, published in 1997, author Stephen Jay Gould asks and answers three main questions about the then-looming millennium ... (1) What exactly is the millennium, and how has its meaning shifted over time?; (2) When exactly will the millennium begin?; and (3) Why are our calendars so complex, leading to a search for arbitrary regularity?The gist of the answers is that most of what's behind the interest in the millennium is the human interest in the idea of an apocalypse; and also a compulsion to measure and organize time.
Much of this book was sort of convoluted, though it did have its interesting parts ... do you know why Jehovah's Witnesses don't salute the flag or undertake military service? Their founder, Charles Taze Russell, was strongly influenced by millenarian doctrines; and Witnesses believe that Satan is currently in control and that secular powers are "unwittingly under his domination."
Another interesting part talks about the "real" birth of Jesus - Gould cites a lot of information leading to his conclusion that the calculation of the millennium is off because Jesus was born around 4 B.C., if not earlier.
Gould is a great, witty writer - but not as witty as my favorite author (Malcolm Gladwell). This was an interesting read, though I wouldn't recommend anyone push it to the top of their "must read" list.
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