London Fields by Martin Amis It is the last year of the second millennium, and the city of London is gearing up for the grand finale. The rest of the planet is also preparing for this very special occasion: everywhere, the air is full of dread. The totality of the abuse humankind has visited upon the earth has generated a bizarre, never-before-seen environmental phenomenon that seems poised to unleash an extinction-level event. That is, if massive numbers of nuclear warheads aren't launched first. Elsewhere, the president's wife has been stricken with some unnamed malady and lies near death in a medical facility, giving apprehensive Londoners just one more thing to bang their heads about. Concern over the latter seems disproportionate (not to mention absurd) given the dire circumstances facing the world but the first lady's health holds front and center in the tabloid headlines. Which may not be a bad thing, necessarily. With their attention directed away from the destru...