The Coffee Table Book of Doom

Dear fellow mortal, Imagine that you're sitting on your sofa leafing through this book, when you feel an odd vibration. Ripples start to shiver across the surface of your teacup. Puzzled, you strain your ears. Then you hear a distant rumbling sound. The noise grows louder. And nearer. The sound is unfamiliar at first, but then you realise what it is. Hoofbeats. Don't go to the window and peer through the curtains. Don't tempt the horsemen of the Apocalypse by showing your face. Doom is no longer far off in the distant future. It could arrive as early as Tuesday morning. There's nothing you can do except read on...Yours anxiously, the authors. Remember the good old days, when doom was straightforward? When all we had to worry about were those 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse from the Bible: Pestilence, War, Famine and Death? Well now we have reason to believe that there are more than 4 horsemen. Many more. In fact, at the last count the authors of "The Coffee Table Book of Doom" put the estimate at 27 horsemen. And that's not all. According to the ancient prophesies of the Mayan Calendar, our next date with doom is due on December 31st, 2012..." The Coffee Table Book of Doom" is a brilliantly funny yet erudite compendium of all the 27 doom-laden horsemen we need to worry about - personal doom, gender erosion, asteroid impact, pandemics, super storms, sexual ruin - and much more besides.

Steven Appleby is a cartoonist and illustrator living in Britain. A dual citizen of the UK and Canada, Appleby has published over 20 books, had many exhibitions of paintings and collaborated on a musical play, Crocs In Frocks which was staged in Camberwell and at the ICA, London in 2006. His work has also appeared on album covers, most notably on Trompe le Monde by the Pixies. His strip Loomus can currently be seen in the Guardian. Originally from North Carolina, Art Lester is a writer, journalist and Unitarian minister who now lives in London. In past lives he has owned restaurants, bars, travelled with the carnival and there are reported to be several countries he hasn't lived in yet. He is the author of the prize-winning Seeing with Your Ears: Spirituality for Those Who Can't Believe and is collaborating with Steven Appleby on a number of books - so watch this space!