End of the World or World Without End: Readings for the Millennium

The year 2000 A.D. was entered with a mixture of fear and hope. For five centuries, people in Europe and then the Americas looked to this year as an ultimatum or culmination. Texts ranging from science fiction to fantasy and poetry explored such questions as this: “Have we exhausted the resources of humanity and the planet, or have we been preparing the ground for a compatible, sustainable world?”

Book List

• Looking Backward: 2000–1887 by Edward Bellamy
• The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Blessed Assurance: At Home with the Bomb in Amarillo, Texas by A. G. Mojtabai
• Fiskadoro by Denis Johnson
• American Poets Say Goodbye to the 20th Century by Andrei Codrescu and Laura Rosenthal, eds.

Program Brochure

The humanities scholar’s essay was written by Hillel Schwartz, who is a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, San Diego, and Senior Fellow at the Millennium Institute, Arlington, Virgina.

Download the scholar’s essay, annotated book list, and supplementary texts (PDF). Please note: The American Library Association is the copyright owner of this essay and annotations. The credit lines embedded in the program materials and/or sponsor and funder logos must remain on all published (print and web) materials derived from these materials.

How-To Discussion Programming Guides

Developed to aid participants in “The Millennium Project for Public Libraries,” this how-to guide (PDF) provides basic information about developing and promoting book discussion programs.

When planning a “Let’s Talk About It” program, you may wish to consult the planner’s manual (PDF) for general how-to information about program format, selecting a scholar, promoting your series, evaluation, and more.