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, Death, Short Stories

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.

[Sharni · Rating 4 out of 5]

My new goal in life is to work the Erfurt Latrine Disaster into as many conversations as possible 🤭 I found this book in the middle of an “I don’t know what I feel like reading” meltdown and it was just right!

Each chapter is its own bite sized bit of history using a strange/unusual death as narrative framing. It’s a fast paced romp through time and I learnt quite a bit, while having a bit of a giggle, along the way.

[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.

[Megan Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 stars.

“Histories strangest deaths” by Riley Knight was an interesting read for those of us who are a bit morbidly curious. The book has 50 short stories about unfortunately odd deaths in history, such as dying by falling into a toilet, dying of laughter and being roasted alive. I found the book interesting, but not great. Knight really needs to settle down on the footnotes. There were so many that I just stopped reading them because I didn’t really care. The stories felt rushed, often spending more time on pointless things about the persons backstory, rather than the death itself. I came here to read about deaths, not about the history of the English empire.
But overall, I did enjoy some of the stories and I did learn a lot. Is what I learnt useful? No. But I do love to tell people random facts so there’s that. I’d honestly give this one a miss if you’re wanting something super substantial, but it’s a great book if you’re needing something to have a quick giggle at.

[Haylee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is exactly what the title suggests, a collection of bizarre, fascinating, and often absurd deaths from throughout history, told with a healthy dose of humour. Riley Knight has a conversational style that makes even the strangest historical anecdotes feel approachable and entertaining.

What I enjoyed most was the balance between comedy and genuine historical detail. The stories are ridiculous enough to make you laugh, but there’s still enough context to make them interesting beyond the shock factor. Knight’s narration and commentary add a lot of personality, especially when pointing out just how avoidable some of these deaths were.

It’s a fun, easy read for anyone who enjoys quirky history, dark humour, and learning about the strange ways real people managed to meet their ends throughout history.

[Tim Goldsmith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Riley Knight has turned content from the "Half-arsed History" podcast into a book, and it reads like it. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. This is full of short, graphic and amusing stories of characters from history and the weird ways that they have died.
Knight is witty and acerbic, and his accounts make use of many great (and also many "low hanging fruit") puns. It was a fun "bubble gum" listen when I was driving somewhere in the car, but really, after half an hour, I only kept listening to kill time and/or hope that there was a story that was so good that I might use it as a sermon illustration some time.
Fun, funny and a little bit rude.

[Peter Holz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a bit undecided on the rating but ended up giving it the benefit of the doubt. It was a fun read, written in a light and amiable and decidedly Australian style. The deaths were patchy, as deaths so often are, but there were some definite crackers, and I received a few incidental history lessons to boot. So 4 stars it is.

[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.

[Mike Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got a bit repetitive and it didn't make me laugh very often, but some interesting stuff nonetheless.

I particularly liked describing Winston Churchill as "war-time leader and history's most quotable bigot."

[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 ✅

[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.

[Kylie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating 3.5 ⭐️

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's so nice to hear Riley jump from podcast to audiobook narrator

[Monya · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️ I thought this was interesting, funny and taught me a bit about history too. It did take me a while to finish because life got busy but for a non-fiction it still was entertaining.