Recently read:
Cosmos, Chaos, and the World to Come: The Ancient Roots of Apocalyptic Faith, by Norman Cohn
A comprehensive argument that the expectation of a final consummation in which good will utterly triumph over evil was unknown to the Near East until the rise of Zoroastrianism. In addition to the main argument, Cohn also argues persuasively that Zoroaster’s innovation was due to a radical reinterpretation of the combat myth (e.g. Seth, Marduk, Indra, Ba’al, etc.) and that Zoroastrianism had a considerable influence on the Book of Revelation and the Book of Daniel (and thus, obviously, on Christianity). Although I was never much for comparative religion, I find Cohn’s books fascinating.
The Devil’s Company, by David Liss
In which Liss trades in his fascination with the advent of modern capitalism for a wearying contempt. Yes it’s a novel (and by an author whose past work I’ve mostly enjoyed), but it’s an awfully didactic one.
