In tracing the meaning of the prophetic Mayan 'end date' of 2012 to our society, Daniel Pinchbeck draws together alien abductions, psychedelic visions, the current ecological crisis & other peculiar aspects of 21st century life into a new vision for our time: 2012 heralds the end of one way of existence & he return of another. There are many hints, both in quantum theory & elsewhere, that humanity is precariously balanced between greater self-potential & environmental disaster. Taking us from the endangered rainforests of the Amazon, to Stonehenge in England & secret ceremonies in jungle enclaves, Pinchbeck's journey tells the story of a man in whose trials we recognise our own hopes & anxieties about modern life, & also provides us with the opportunity to think differently about a new culture for the plant.