Straight To Hell: 20th Century Suicides

by Namida King

A voyeuristic look at some of the most shocking and spectacular suicides of modern times by celebrities or those who achieved notoriety by the sheer nature, scale or political repercussions of their fatal actions. From singers Kurt Cobain and Ian Curtis, to writer Ernest Hemingway, artist Mark Rothko, serial killer Fred West, Adolf Hitler and Yukio Mishima, this is a unique, illustrated catalogue of self-inflicted death. Heavily illustrated with often disturbing images of human carnage, "Straight to Hell "is a unique exploration of some of the most shocking, scandalous, and bizarre acts of self-annihilation in recent times.

Contributors include Mikita Brottman, Jack Sargeant, Nikolas Schreck, Stephen Barber and Jeremy Reed.

Genres: Psychology, History, Nonfiction, Death

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2003

Reviews

[Ville Verkkapuro]

One of the darkest pieces of writing I've ever laid my eyes upon. In a way not too bad, at times almost clinical, reads like a collection of Wikipedia articles. But the fact that these stories have been collected, that they exist, that these instances bear such a heavy history and sad circumstances make me want to cry. Some instances that I'm very familiar with: Dwyer, Cobain, Hitler, Mishima. Many new cases with horrible histories, yet intriguingly interesting.
Suicide is such an interesting topic as it forces one to look at all the ways our society has failed, how people have failed... and therefore paints a great picture of how one should live and how our world should be built in order for never having to write another book like this.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Book consists of essays by different authors detailing famous suicides. I found the essays informative and relatively well done—there was only one that I didn’t like.

[Lance Grabmiller · Rating 1 out of 5]

Much of this is sensationalized to the point of complete fabrication and is in desperate need of an editor (typos and other problems throughout). The quality of the writing is all over the map and any attempt at analysis or introspection is usually laughable.