History's Strangest Deaths: A Half-Arsed History Book

by Riley Knight

True stories of extraordinary deaths throughout history to the modern day from the host of the popular Half-Arsed History podcast.

History's Strangest Deaths, the debut book from Riley Knight, host of the popular podcast Half-Arsed History, highlights the many and varied ways that people have met their end over the years, from the foolish to the absurd.

From a classical Greek playwright killed by a tortoise dropping out of the sky to an ancient Chinese duke falling into a toilet; from a Viking raider bitten by a severed head to a lawyer shooting himself to prove a legal point; from two French kings killed by door frames to two British parliamentarians who were killed by turnips—there are countless amusing, farcical, absurd, and ultimately very strange deaths from across history. History's Strangest Deaths offers fifty of the best of them, spanning thousands of years of history to recent times.

Many people are supremely unimaginative in death, embracing the tired old cliché of dying peacefully in their sleep surrounded by loved ones. History's Strangest Deaths has tracked down those select few who have instead made their mark in the history books by exiting this world in thrillingly unconventional ways.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Audiobook, Historical

250 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 5, 2025

Reviews

[Tamina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick and easy read that’s both entertaining and educational. I think my favourite deaths were the lawyer who shot himself as past of a legal defence and the guy who people tried to kill five times before succeeding

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Content warnings: death, assassination, murder, violence, torture

A very funny, very satirical look at strange deaths throughout history. Although in some cases (*cough* Harold Holt * cough*) it's less the death itself and more the aftermath that's strange. I have no experience with Half-Arsed History, but this was both very enjoyable AND the ideal way to block out demolition noise courtesy of the renovation currently happening at my house.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. Some of these causes of death were eye opening! My favourite would be the Eurfurt Latrine disaster (look that one up!)

Told in a humourous way. Definitely worth a read.

[eliza* ੈ✩‧₊˚ · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun little read to kill time at work. definitely worth listening to the audiobook as i’m unsure how it would translate on paper

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darkly funny, Aussie humour. I really need to start following the podcast.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very amusing read.

[Kristian Pheiffer · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I really enjoy the Half-Arsed History podcast, the humour doesn’t carry over well to the page. What’s fun and engaging in audio feels a bit forced in writing. The stories are interesting, but the tone gets tiring quickly. Worth a skim for fans, but not essential.

[Lachlan Halliday · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun and engaging book that takes cues from the podcast in the colloquial writing style. Instead of trudging through a dense jargon filled history book, reading this is like having a chat with a mate who is sneakily giving you a lesson in history.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a fun book, about, well, funny deaths. A history of deaths, that you may, or may not have heard of. The audio was good, read by the author, who put some of his comedic quirkiness in the reading which made it fun as well. Suitable for both teens and adults.

[Bohdan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible! Hilarious!

I’m a loyal listener to the podcast, and this book lived up to all my expectations.

There was a bit of reused material but even then it was spruced up with some new jokes. And much of it was all new!

Can’t wait for the next book

[Roger · Rating 2 out of 5]

This tries a little too hard to be funny, with quips every second sentence and frequent use of footnotes for comedic purpose. The target audience seems to be either adolescent or sixty-year old male. It's very Australian-coded, so might entirely miss the mark for international readers.

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

could only hear his voice in my head while reading I may as well have listened to the audiobook

[Jaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of light fun : )

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice light read despite the subject. Just what I needed.

[Steph Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun look through time at some very silly subject matter. Deeply Australian takes. Very Eurocentric.

[Magpie]

Sharon Bookclub 2025 ✅

[Megan Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m the author’s wife and I think he did a pretty good job

[Lidya · Rating 3 out of 5]

chill book that you can turn your brain off to but otherwise unremarkable

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightfully funny, Riley Knight gathers together an impressive list of absurd, baffling and comedic deaths.

[Felix · Rating 5 out of 5]

really cool and fun and funny at times
rest in peace harold holt

[Joshua Worth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book! Got it as a Xmas gift (I live in Canada so it was a tough one to get).

Definitely recommend the read but HIGHLY recommend the podcast.

[Robb Tasker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely fun, witty and engaging tour through some of history’s most ridiculous individuals and their final moments. Fast easy read that anyone can enjoy

[Matthias · Rating 3 out of 5]

"If you like the podcast you'll probably like the book" pretty much sums it up. Lots of "recycled" content from the podcast, but with some extra details here and there. Perfectly light and humorous read.

Probably the only book I've ever read where my internal voice has an Australian accent.

Update after reading: Perfectly serviceable book. More for fans of the podcast than general audiences I would say.

[Amy apple · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky, quick fun read.

[Thu Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously not a serious topic you need to study, it was just fun to listen to.