Hailed as the best scholarship in its field, this survey traces apocalypticism's role in Western history from its origins to the close of the third millennium. Continuum congratulates Joan J. Collins on being the recipient of the 1999 Choice Outstanding Academic Book Award Praise for the Encyclopedia: "...clear, rich, and provocative...it gathers available but widely scattered insights and interpretations into one convenient work....by virtue of it's general excellence and its breadth, this encyclopedia is certainly going to be indispensable for apocalyptic research specialists, and it will be extremely useful for graduate students and advanced undergraduates, as well as a growing, if still small, category of 'general readers' attracted to the topic by the approach of the millennial year." -Religious Studies Review, July 2000 "This splendid collection of essays explores religiously inspired conceptions of the end of history ... Addressing critical aspects of Western apocalypticism, the authors identify and define their topics carefully, develop independent interpretations, and supply excellent supporting annotated bibliographies. This superb encyclopedia represents the best current scholarship ... it richly deserves wide distribution." - Choice "An indispensable resource for anyone interested in studying the origin, development, and continuing impact of apocalyptic thought and writings in Judaism, Christianity and Islam." - America "This multi-volume set, a masterfully conceived work covering the vast historical literature of apocalypticism, will ... utterly delight the serious scholar ... Those truly interested in a comprehensive exposition of apocalypticism will find treasures in this great work." - Library Journal "Edited by first-rate scholars ... this work is certain to dominate the field for decades. It is rich, learned, fascinating and unsettling." - Arnold Jacob Wolr, author of Apocalyptic for the Millennium "Excellent....an essential tool for the study of ancient apocalyptic." -Religious Studies Review, April 2001