Philosophical Research Society Presents APOCALYPSE ANXIETY Book Talks

Three days before Independence Day, on Monday, July 1 at 7:30 p.m., the Philosophical Research Society (PRS) of Los Angeles will host book talks by authors Thomas Allbaugh, author of the dark humor novel, Apocalypse TV, and Dahlia Schweitzer, author of Going Viral: Zombies, Viruses, and the End of the World, in the PRS auditorium.

Playfully entitled "Apocalypse Blues: Two Authors, Two Views," the program will feature two views-one fiction and one nonfiction-of "Apocalypse Anxiety" in the 21st Century.

Apocalypse TV was recently named to Judd Apatow's "Best Reality TV Show Books of All Time" list. The novel focuses on a mild-mannered intellectual professor at a Christian college who has to fight for his life as a participant in the reality TV game show, Race to the Apocalypse. Forced to struggle with reality, religion, and his own authenticity, will he take up arms against the troubles unleashed upon him by unseen production forces or end up slaughtered as the show's designated "sacrificial lamb"?

Going Viral considers how fictional outbreak narratives and official sources have influenced the ways Americans relate to their neighbors, perceive foreigners, and regard social institutions. This book examines how outbreak narratives both excite and horrify us, conjuring our nightmares while letting us indulge in fantasies about fighting infected Others. Going Viral raises provocative questions about the cost of public paranoia and the power brokers who profit from it.

The evening will include a Power Point presentation by Dr. Schweitzer, and Q&A session.

The books are now on sale at the PRS Bookstore, as well as at Vromans in Pasadena, Barnes & Noble in Rancho Cucamonga, and online at Amazon.

Apocalypse TV: http://apocalypsetv.blogspot.com

Going Viral: http://www.thisisdahlia.com

Tickets: FREE or $10.00 donation. Available at EventBrite or at the door.

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