Longing for the End: A History of Millennialism in Western Civilization

Frederic J. Baumgartner offers a very readable introduction to the history of millennialism in the West. I have now read a fair number of such histories. What makes Baumgartner's different is that, apart from providing the familiar history (which touches on outbreaks of millennialism from the birth of Christianity through the Cold War and Waco), it offers lots of original observations along the way. Nitpickers will notice a few errors in dates or small facts in the book. Scholars of the history of millennialism may also quibble with Baumgartner's interpretation of particular periods and events. However, on the whole, it's a strong and very accessible contribution.