This nonfiction book is by the author of one of the books I read when I was researching Mayan December – Skywatchers.   Better yet, the author is very much like one of my main characters, Alice.  Like Alice, Anthony Aveni in an archaeoastronomer, or someone who studies the intersection of culture and astronomy.   Also like Alice (and me!) Dr Aveni assumes that the world is not much more likely to end on December 21st, 2012 than on any other day. You will have to read Mayan December to discover what happens to Alice’s belief that all is normal, but I will put out one spoiler:  neither book claims an apocalypse in 2012.  Alice herself does encounter some unexplainable things.

The End of Time is well-written and accessible.  It’s also a great showcase for the work of an archaeoastronomer:  Dr. Aveni does a nice job looking both backwards at the Maya culture and forwards at ours.