THEY SAW THE FUTURE

In a now familiar format, Krull (Lives of the Artist, 1995, etc.) introduces prognosticators from Nostradamus and Hildegard of Bingen to Jules Verne, Nicholas Black Elk, Jeane Dixon, Marshall McLuhan, and the anonymous Mayan creators of a calendar that shows a major cataclysm coming on December 21, 2012. Along with short lists of hits and misses, every chapter combines biographical tidbits, analyses, and cultural snapshots, illuminating both the prophets’ characters and their eras. Brooker’s tableaux incorporate paint, clipped photographs, and bits of cloth and leather for portraits that are less satiric than the caricatures Kathryn Hewitt created for the previous books in the series. On whether her subjects could see the future, the author has it both ways, suggesting “a gift, a talent, a special genius beyond rational explanation,” nourished by tremendous curiosity, uncommon listening and research skills, and the courage to go out on a limb. (further reading, index) (Biography. 10-13)