Everything Must Go

A riveting & brilliantly original exploration of our fantasies of the end of the world, from Mary Shelley's The Last Man to Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron, by the Baillie Gifford & Orwell prize-shortlisted writer & co-host of the podcast 'Origin Story'.

For two millennia, Christians have looked forward to the end, haunted by the apocalyptic visions of the Biblical books of Daniel & Revelation. But for two centuries or more, these dark fantasies have given way to secular stories of how the world, our planet, or our species (or all of the above) might come to an end.

Dorian Lynskey's fascinating book explores the endings that we have read, listened to or watched over the last two dozen decades, whether they be by the death & destruction of a nuclear holocaust or collision with a meteor or comet, devastating epidemic or takeover by robots or computers.

The result is nothing less than a cultural history of the modern world, weaving together politics, history, science, high & popular culture in a book that is uniquely original, grippingly readable & deeply illuminating about both us & our times.

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Dorian Lynskey writes about music, film, books and politics for publications including The Guardian, The Observer, the New Statesman, GQ, Billboard, Empire, & Mojo. His first book was 33 Revolutions Per Minute: A History of Protest Songs. A study of 33 pivotal songs with a political message, it was NME's Book of the Year & a 'Music Book of the Year' in The Daily Telegraph. His second book, The Ministry of Truth: A Biography of George Orwell's 1984, was longlisted for both the Baillie Gifford Prize & the Orwell Prize. Hehosts the podcasts 'Origin Story' & 'Oh God, What Now?'.