cover image Nostradamus y La Tercera Guerra Mundial de 2002

Nostradamus y La Tercera Guerra Mundial de 2002

David S. Montaigne. Llewellyn Espanol, $10.95 (168pp) ISBN 978-0-7387-0270-4

A businessman and historian residing in Pennsylvania, Montaigne has produced an accessible guide to prophet Nostradamus's predictions, in particular the anticipation of the Third World War in 2002. The author begins by revoking the belief that Nostradamus predicted the destruction of the World Trade Center towers last September. Space is also devoted to what the author considers to be Nostradamus's successful prophecies, among them the advent of Napoleon, Roosevelt's failure to stop the Holocaust, and the fall of the Shah of Iran. Montaigne then focuses on those predictions related to World War III. According to his readings, Nostradamus anticipates that after the first antichrist, Osama bin Laden, is destroyed, the second antichrist, Saddam Hussein, will wreak havoc on Western Europe. Each prophecy is followed by short and long interpretations so that readers can either skim or focus on a particular topic. For verification purposes Montaigne cites sources in footnotes. The bibliography, however, is overly brief, citing only five books, none of them in Spanish. Because Nostradamus is already well known and popular among Hispanics, this book will be popular in public libraries and bookstores serving readers of Spanish. Sonia Merubia, Benson Latin American Collection, Univ. of Texas, Austin