IN THE MAIL: Thomas Homer-Dixon’s book on disasters and preparedness from a lefty perspective, The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization. It’s an interesting example of the kind of lefty apocalypticism I discussed last week, and I wish I’d had a copy when I wrote that piece.

The book draws heavily on Tainter’s The Collapse of Complex Societies, which is a terrific book — though I recall reading it a few years ago and concluding that Tainter’s lessons didn’t suggest that our society was in particularly great danger. Homer-Dixon feels otherwise. There’s also a troubling reference to Stalin-apologist Eric Hobsbawm merely as an “eminent historian” — talk about a guy who can argue for “the upside of down,” — but overall I think the book’s pretty interesting. It’s certainly an example of the phenomenon I described in my column:

As with some of the righty books from the 1990s, there’s a curious push-pull here: Though these are warnings of catastrophes to come, there’s a sense that to some extent those catastrophes involve society getting what it deserves for its sinful ways, perhaps coupled with an opportunity for purification in the wake of the crisis — with the virtuously prepared having the upper hand, of course.

Worth reading, if this stuff interests you.