"The book is a collection of brief, poignant chapters that present a history of the Western world by means of selected artistic, literary, and political figures. For example, St. John of patmos, Wagner, and Hitler are effective masters of simulation who create o view of the end of the world as if it were a "work of art," namely, the Apocalypse, the German Myth, and the State. Also particularly relevant to the story, are the ideas of "stigma," the human attraction to the void, and the character of Faust, a reminder that the human condition is as much Faust as it is Mephistopheles." "Interdisciplinary in nature, the book crosses thematic as well as genre boundaries in a style regarded as "transversal." The poetical essays that comprise the story are full of both literary and philosophical allusions, yet also devoid of theoretical terms or references and there fore read like fiction. That may be the reason why the work became a non-fiction bestseller in Spain shortly after its original publication." "The book's proposals are still relevant today, though it is not an apocalyptic text in the religious sense. The preface warns readers that the text is not a shattering of master narratives, a turning point in postmodern nihilism but, ultimately, a call to a new ethics: "In spite of its title it is not an apocalyptic text. It is a call against the ideals that have poisoned the air we had to breathe." As the end of the book is reached, it becomes clear that the call involves accepting the tragicomedy of the human condition, the void, without attempting to fill it, or in a Heideggerian sense, learning to live with the questions."--Jacket.