By now, we've heard all kinds of conflicting beliefs and opinions on what will become of mankind, the planet and life as we know it after December 21, 2012.

The author, Daniel J. Gansle, is well educated in the area of Mayan culture, his university degree is in Cultural Anthropology with a concentration in Mesoamerican studies. He participated in a show on Mayan prophecy for the History Channel's documentary of 2009, Nostradamus Effect. Having viewed this documentary, I was especially looking forward to the more indepth research and interpretation I was certain would be in this book. I was definitely not disappointed by my high expectations of this book. In fact, I found it to be even more detailed, well written and fascinating than I could possibly have anticipated.

The book is divided into sections. The first section breaks down the background of the Mayans, giving the novice in the study of Mayan culture a broad base of understanding, yet also manages to share information that even those with some background in Mayan studies may be unaware of. The instruction offered to understand the Mayan Codices is exceptional, possibly the best I've seen. The next section, Prophecy, contains an outstanding explanation of New Age Movements to include harmonic convergence, psychic vision, channeling, astrology, numerology, UFOs, crop circles and more, each increasingly fascinating. This section also details the predictions of Nostradamus, galactic alignment, Planet X/Nibiru, pole shifts, timewave zero and more. The section that covers scriptual prophecy is very well done and complete, easy to understand and clarifying many common misconceptions. The book includes numerous figures, tables and illustrations, all equally informative and well written.

Regardless of your personal belief system or religious background, the author has presented an outstanding look at the 2012 debate. Highly recommended reading for all with an interest in this area.