2013: The End of Days or a New Beginning: Envisioning the World After the Events of 2012

Every wonder where all the hype of Y2K the end of time comes from and what new prophecies about future dates and events will arise? Well here you go. Some believe the fabled 5,125-year-long Mayan calendar ends on December 21, 2012 and an apocalypse - a series of disastrous earthquakes, eruption or volcanoes, solar storms, etc will bring the end of the world, as we know it. Author Mare D Jones, examines all of the myths, prophecies, and predictions surrounding the impending milestone and answers the questions surrounding them. Widely published with hundreds of credits including five Chicken Soup for the Soul titles, author Marie D. Jones extensive background in metaphysical studies, paranormal phenomena and spiritual inspiration walks the reader through the history, theories and beliefs surrounding these prophecies. Handsomely designed including pictures, and well written this book is highly recommended for adult readers who wonder are we really coming to an end or are we just beginning?

This is a compelling book that flows very well and has many interesting points of view and information that I am familiar. My hats off to the author for a fine piece of writing organized well, optimistic and hopeful.

With all of the "doom and gloom" predictions of 2012, this book is a refreshing change of pace. Rather than rehashing what many others have written about their belief that 2012 will signal the end of humanity, 2013 was an extremely interesting and engaging read. Marie explores a variety of relevant subject matter relating to the mystery of 2012. Throughout the book, the authors wit and humor added especially nice touches to sections which could have been somewhat "dry." Her well-researched facts are appreciated, and the attention to detail is clearly evident. With t-minus 4 years and counting to this seminal date, my suggestion is to begin preparing by reading this book now!

I am in no way an expert in end of the world, dooms day, apocalypse literature or theories. I am however, familiar with many of the cultural interpretations of such an event. The one thing I really liked about this book is the wide coverage of possibilities that were presented. Before reading it, I was honestly expecting another mankind is a plague to the planet approach that has been common in many other works. Instead, many other possible outcomes are discussed, and in no way, do they all spell doom for our world. If there is some significance to all of the information that seems to point to the year 2012 as a significant turning point for our world, I am seeing more and more information leading to the idea that as a species, we may be in store for a re-envisioning of our current world. This new outlook is becoming much more apparent as children, younger and younger, seem to be in touch with much more paranormal and psychic abilities. Spirituality and studies of the paranormal have become the norm, there are a multitude of TV shows dedicated to it, Ghost Hungers, Psychic Kids, etc. This book was quite surprising and an enjoyable read, especially the collection of various perspectives, given by people of all walks of life at the end of the book.

Over the last few days I've been reading the new book from Marie D. Jones: 2013: The End of Days or a New Beginning? And having now completed it, I can tell you that her book is an excellent study of the many and varied controversies concerning the end of the Mayan calendar on December 21, 2012. Is the world going to come to a fiery conclusion on that potentially fateful - and fatal - day? Or will we see a positive transformation that ushers in a whole new Golden Age-type era for Humankind? Or will we see absolutely nothing out of the ordinary happen at all? These - and many others - are the questions that Marie's book skilfully asks and answers. So where to begin? Well, at the beginning, of course! After a thoughtful and insightful foreword from best-selling author Whitley Strieber (who has written at length himself on the issues of future disasters and cataclysmic events), we are treated to an excellent lesson in history from Marie, who reveals the notable story of the Mayan culture, how the Mayan calendar came into being, and what it was that led to the situation that we now find ourselves in: namely, wondering what the hell might happen in only four-and-a-half-years from now! And that, of course, is the crux of the book. Marie leaves no stone unturned as she addresses the issue of what our world, and our civilization, might be like after 2012 rolls over into 2013. Are we going to see death and destruction on a scale that echoes the Old Testament? Will we experience monstrous earthquakes, floods and environmental disasters that overwhelm us into destruction? Is it possible that there could be some form of religious rapture looming ominously on the horizon, and one that comes to its climax in December 2012? In asking these questions, Marie also gives us much-welcome data on such characters as Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, and Zecharia Sitchin, and she demonstrates that it's not impossible that the latter days of 2012 and the years that follow could prove to be very bad indeed - if, of course, the whole "End of Days" ideas and beliefs have some merit to them. But, don't go slashing your wrists just yet! Marie's book is not one of doom and gloom, and neither is her approach to the subject matter: she stresses in the book that as far as the Mayans are concerned, "Yes, they say, the world will end. But only the world as we know it. The Mayans believed in spiritual transformation and the acceleration of conscious evolution." In other words, what we perceive to be doomsday might be the equivalent of the caterpillar turning into the butterfly - a positive end, and a fantastic new beginning. Again, Marie details for us the beliefs of the Mayans in this particular area (as well as the similar beliefs of different cultures), life-cycles, world-cycles, and the issue of the so-called "Thirteen Heavens" that are all integral parts of the story. Marie also discusses a very important matter in the chapter of her book titl