The Darwin Awards: Felonious Failures

Darwin Awards

by Wendy Northcutt

When it comes to criminals, Darwin wades in the shallow end of the gene pool. Witness the astonishing idiocy of the absent-minded terrorist who opens a letter-bomb returned for insufficient postage, or the thief who steals electrical wire without shutting off the current, or the man who saws off his own leg to collect insurance. This collection of cautionary tales proves that crime does pay . . . a genetic dividend!

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published November 28, 2005

About the author

Wendy Northcutt graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in molecular biology. She began collecting the stories that make up the Darwin Awards in 1993 and founded www.DarwinAwards.com shortly after.

Northcutt is the author of the international bestsellers The Darwin Awards: Evolution in Action, The Darwin Awards 2: Unnatural Selection, The Darwin Awards 3: Survival of the Fittest, and The Darwin Awards 4: Intelligent Design. Her newest addition to the series is The Darwin Awards: Next Evolution."

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a quick and easy read that will make you smile. It is also fun to share the stories with other. If you have never heard of the Darwin Awards, then go to Wendy's website www.DarwinAwards.com and start reading. While I am a big fan of the Darwin Awards, this book is simply a small collection both in physical size and story quantity. If this book had been larger it could have been a great bathroom reader.
Since there is no real connection between the stories, other than they appeared on the site, and a good percentage of them are unconfirmed by Darwin you will get a much better “Darwinian” experience by visiting her website.

[Keri-Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty much what I expect from a Darwin Awards book, but it was rather small (I expected the usual size of the other Darwin books we have given the price I paid online) and it had more "unconfirmed" stories that I like to get in a book. I prefer knowing the idiocy is real and not an urban legend.

[Yousef · Rating 3 out of 5]

like an enjoyable portion in a newspaper, short and funny. kept it in my backpack and read it on the subway. bought it for 2 dollars. worth it.