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Final Exits: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of How We Die – 3,000 Bizarre and Common Causes Alphabetically Cataloged from Actual Accounts
To die, kick the bucket, to meet your Maker, dead as a doornail, get whacked, smoked, bite the dust, sleep with the fishes, go six feet under—whatever death is called, it's going to happen. In 1789 Ben Franklin wrote, "In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes." Death remains a certainty. But how do we die? It's the enormous variety of how that enlivens final exits. According to death certificates, in 1700 there were less than 100 causes of death. Today there are 3,000. With each advance of technology, people find new ways to become deceased, often causing trends that peak in the first year. People are now killed by everything, from cell phones, washing machines, lawn mowers and toothpicks, to the boundless catalog of man—made medicines. In Final Exits the causes of death—bizarre or common—are alphabetically arranged and include actual accounts of people, both famous and ordinary, who unfortunately died that way. (Ants, bad words, Bingo, bean bag chairs, flying cows, frozen toilets, hiccups, lipstick, moray eels, road kill, starfish, and toupees are only some of the more unusual causes.)
496 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2006
49 people are currently reading
3730 people want to read
About the author
Michael Largo
10 books49 followersMichael Largo is an expert on the anomalous ways of American dying. He is the author of The Portable Obituary (a Bram Stoker Award Finalist), Final Exits: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of How We Die (winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Nonfiction), and three novels. He was the former editor of New York Poetry and the researcher/archivist for the film company Allied Artists. The son of an NYPD narcotics detective, Largo was the owner and founder of the landmark NYC East Village, St Marks Bar & Grill during the early 80s, where he served an eclectic clientele, including Allen Ginsberg, Joni Mitchell, Larry Rivers, and Keith Richards, to name a few, allowing an insider’s look and unusual vantage to observe both genius and heroin--in all its deviations--and its impact on contemporary culture.
Michael Largo has been collecting statistics and information on the American way of dying for over a decade. He is a member of The Authors Guild, Mystery Writers of America amd Horror Writers of America, and The American Historical Association.
Michael Largo has been collecting statistics and information on the American way of dying for over a decade. He is a member of The Authors Guild, Mystery Writers of America amd Horror Writers of America, and The American Historical Association.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 177 reviews
April 3, 2011
It's endless entertaining to whip this book out and tell my family, friends and love ones of all the ways they can die. Personal favorite? The spiders in the soup.
March 4, 2016
Ο θάνατος είναι συνήθως κάτι δυσάρεστο, που συνοδεύεται από θλίψη για τους συγγενείς που έχουν χάσει το δικό τους άνθρωπο, απασχολεί εδώ και αιώνες τη θρησκεία που προσπαθεί να δώσει απαντήσεις για το μετά, αλλά και την επιστήμη για τον ίδιο ακριβώς λόγο. Έχει εμπνεύσει ιστορίες και ιστορίες που εκφράστηκαν στημ μουσική, τον κινηματογράφο, τη λογοτεχνία, τη ζωγραφική.
Μια άλλη όψη του θανάτου είναι η χιουμοριστική, στα πλαίσια του black humour. Με αυτή τη σκοπιά είναι γραμμένο αυτό το βιβλίο, το οποίο περιλαμβάνει καταγραφή περιπτώσεων θανάτου με ιδιαίτερο τρόπο, τρόπο που μόνο γέλιο θα προκαλούσε σε κάποιον που το διαβάζει και θα τον έκανε να αναφωνεί "κοίτα το βλάκα πώς πήγε και πέθανε". Χαρακτηριστικά παραδείγματα: εκνεύρισε τη γυναίκα του και αυτή τον σκότωσε με τα τακούνια που φορούσε, ένας τύπος που ήταν η μασκότ μιας ομάδας φρόντισε να εκνευρίσει (με μοιραία αποτελέσματα για τον ίδιο) τους οπαδούς της αντίπαλης ομάδας, ή κάποιος απολάμβανε τη βόλτα του στο κάμπριο αυτοκίνητό του, αλλά δεν πρόσεξε και αποκεφαλίστηκε από τον κορμό ενός δέντρου!!!
Για όλους τους φαν τέτοιων ιστοριών, νομίζω ότι θα το απολαύσουν. Το βιβλίο δεν είναι λογοτεχνικό, είναι γραμμένο με μορφή εγκυκλοπαίδειας, μάλιστα τα περιστατικά είναι με κάποιο τρόπο αλφαβητικά κατανεμημένα!!!
Μια άλλη όψη του θανάτου είναι η χιουμοριστική, στα πλαίσια του black humour. Με αυτή τη σκοπιά είναι γραμμένο αυτό το βιβλίο, το οποίο περιλαμβάνει καταγραφή περιπτώσεων θανάτου με ιδιαίτερο τρόπο, τρόπο που μόνο γέλιο θα προκαλούσε σε κάποιον που το διαβάζει και θα τον έκανε να αναφωνεί "κοίτα το βλάκα πώς πήγε και πέθανε". Χαρακτηριστικά παραδείγματα: εκνεύρισε τη γυναίκα του και αυτή τον σκότωσε με τα τακούνια που φορούσε, ένας τύπος που ήταν η μασκότ μιας ομάδας φρόντισε να εκνευρίσει (με μοιραία αποτελέσματα για τον ίδιο) τους οπαδούς της αντίπαλης ομάδας, ή κάποιος απολάμβανε τη βόλτα του στο κάμπριο αυτοκίνητό του, αλλά δεν πρόσεξε και αποκεφαλίστηκε από τον κορμό ενός δέντρου!!!
Για όλους τους φαν τέτοιων ιστοριών, νομίζω ότι θα το απολαύσουν. Το βιβλίο δεν είναι λογοτεχνικό, είναι γραμμένο με μορφή εγκυκλοπαίδειας, μάλιστα τα περιστατικά είναι με κάποιο τρόπο αλφαβητικά κατανεμημένα!!!
January 31, 2008
Those who know me know I have macabre tastes, so this was a great read. Why not 5 stars? No goddamn sources! Without sources, this is a collection of anecdotes.
July 23, 2016
This is a readable book on a very interesting subject - the different ways people die. Yeah, there are some examples that I didn't even think about as a real cause of death. But overall what a disappointment! The author appeared to be making up facts to back up his writing as the statistics were all screwy and there were no citations. As a history person I find this very suspicious. Over and over again he used misleading or wrong information. For example, he says that President William Henry Harrison died from a cold after talking too much at his inauguration to prove to the American people that they should not have reelected an old man. Reelect? Yeah, he died one month after the inauguration but he was not reelected. It was his first term. And no...the inventor of chewing gum did not choke on a piece of gum, he actually died from pneumonia. I have a feeling Michael Largo found some interesting information then twisted it around for it to sound more sensational. Also, this guy needed an editor. Don't even get me started on the typos, misspellings, wrong dates and improper commas. Some examples include "heath tip" instead of "health tip," "Edinborough" instead of "Edinburgh," "serve electrolyte imbalance" instead of "severe electrolyte imbalance," and "Los Angles" instead of "Los Angeles". I know I'm not the world's greatest writer, but I don't plan on writing a book.
April 16, 2018
I stopped 10 pages in:
"What's in that flu shot?
Another way mercury enters the body is through vaccines: The mercury-based Thimerosal is added as a preservative in adult and children's flu shots. From the first vaccines administered shortly after birth, mercury is injected into every child in America. The Journal of Mental Deficiency Research reported on a study that found mercury in the hair samples of autistic children, raising the probability that the recent explosion of autistic children can be traced to mercury in vaccines. In 2004, the Immunization Safety Review Committee recommended the removal of mercury preservatives from children's vaccines after current stockpiles are depleted. Out of the 4 million people born each year in the United States, over twenty-four thousand will be autistic and another six hundred thousand children will be affected with mild to severe learning disorders caused by mercury that settles and disturbs brain cells. Before 1930, when Thimerosal was first added as a preservative in vaccines, the rate of autism was 1 in 20,000 births. Today, the rate is 1 in 144."
How can I trust anything else in the book?
"What's in that flu shot?
Another way mercury enters the body is through vaccines: The mercury-based Thimerosal is added as a preservative in adult and children's flu shots. From the first vaccines administered shortly after birth, mercury is injected into every child in America. The Journal of Mental Deficiency Research reported on a study that found mercury in the hair samples of autistic children, raising the probability that the recent explosion of autistic children can be traced to mercury in vaccines. In 2004, the Immunization Safety Review Committee recommended the removal of mercury preservatives from children's vaccines after current stockpiles are depleted. Out of the 4 million people born each year in the United States, over twenty-four thousand will be autistic and another six hundred thousand children will be affected with mild to severe learning disorders caused by mercury that settles and disturbs brain cells. Before 1930, when Thimerosal was first added as a preservative in vaccines, the rate of autism was 1 in 20,000 births. Today, the rate is 1 in 144."
How can I trust anything else in the book?
February 17, 2009
Save your money! This is an absolutely terrible book. It's a cool concept, and I'd seen many positive reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, so I bought it. What a disappointment! The author provides no references or notes on his "research," so he may as well have made up all of the content. It's full of typos, factual errors, and ridiculous statistics. He claims at one point that less than 3% of the 100 million Americans who go to amusement parks die because of injuries received there. Excuse me? I would hope that less than 3% of amusement park patrons die. If anywhere near 3% of them did die from injuries sustained at parks, they would have been banned ages ago. But "less than 3%" could mean .001%--what a horrible misuse of statistics!
Even worse, in the section on flesh eating viruses, the idiot author switches from virus to bacteria and back again over and over. He does not know the difference between viruses and bacteria but he has the gall to write about either in a book he's calling non-fiction, and an "encyclopedia?" Does he also dispense medical advice on the street corner, encouraging one and all to buy his magic magnetic heal-all bracelets? A biologist friend of mine was with me when I read his poorly-written, bogus nonsense section on "flesh-eating viruses" and I thought she was going to hurl the book into the fireplace when I read the non-sensical, misleading drivel to her. The book only survived because I told her I needed to refer to it when I panned it.
Even worse, in the section on flesh eating viruses, the idiot author switches from virus to bacteria and back again over and over. He does not know the difference between viruses and bacteria but he has the gall to write about either in a book he's calling non-fiction, and an "encyclopedia?" Does he also dispense medical advice on the street corner, encouraging one and all to buy his magic magnetic heal-all bracelets? A biologist friend of mine was with me when I read his poorly-written, bogus nonsense section on "flesh-eating viruses" and I thought she was going to hurl the book into the fireplace when I read the non-sensical, misleading drivel to her. The book only survived because I told her I needed to refer to it when I panned it.
April 15, 2024
Took a month to get through because I wanted to record my favorites for a YouTube series. It's available now, but restricted to adults, so you might have to login before you find it. I learned loads of interesting stuff, and highly recommend this book for those who enjoy morbid anecdotes.
June 17, 2008
I read this book wrong. Start to finish. Why did I do that? It's statistics and trivial facts. It's supposed to sit on your shelf and be picked up by guests when they come over! But I had to prove to myself that I could finish it. But I did realize that as a race, humans are a lot like cats. You know - how we always sit around and wait for our cats to make mistakes? And when they do we all laugh! Well, this book is like that, only with death and humans instead of mistakes and cats.
September 23, 2008
This was a compulsively readable book of death trivia, well-illustrated, with numerous interesting tales of people who died in unusual ways. I noticed several inaccuracies, however, and some sentences that were so grammatically flawed they made me wince.
December 14, 2015
The danger is worse than I thought.
July 30, 2011
I read a lot of morbid books. I was excited to stumble on this one in my library - it seemed like one I would love.
The presentation is horrible. Other people may not be bothered by the organization of this book, but I had major issues with it. The information isn't organized very well - chapters are alphabetically arranged but within those chapters, it's difficult to tell where one topic ends and another begins. This makes the book especially difficult to read if you just try to read one or two sections at a time. You really should try to read this chapter by chapter instead - it's easier to bookmark that way.
The author rambles - facts are inserted willy-nilly. You're never sure what you're going to get in each section.
The cross-references system is so bad that it's almost nonexistent.
Some of the facts are wrong, which makes me wary of every fact presented in the book. This presents a huge problem in my enjoyment of the book - which is a shame, because there is a lot of information here that could be interesting, if only I trusted the author.
The presentation is horrible. Other people may not be bothered by the organization of this book, but I had major issues with it. The information isn't organized very well - chapters are alphabetically arranged but within those chapters, it's difficult to tell where one topic ends and another begins. This makes the book especially difficult to read if you just try to read one or two sections at a time. You really should try to read this chapter by chapter instead - it's easier to bookmark that way.
The author rambles - facts are inserted willy-nilly. You're never sure what you're going to get in each section.
The cross-references system is so bad that it's almost nonexistent.
Some of the facts are wrong, which makes me wary of every fact presented in the book. This presents a huge problem in my enjoyment of the book - which is a shame, because there is a lot of information here that could be interesting, if only I trusted the author.
February 10, 2016
This was an interesting read but it made me a tad bit paranoid, albeit temporarily. LOL
May 15, 2019
Don't judge me. It's ok to like a little morbid. A bit scattershot and anecdotal, but quite interesting, and many fascinating little tidbits. One doesn't have to read each entry, but there is enough here to interest just about anyone. Some of the pictures seemed a bit off point at times. Overall, quite a fun (if you like this kind of thing) read.
June 17, 2009
This isn't really a life-changing book, and I doubt it will actually extend my lifetime, as the writer claimed (I hope sardonically) it would in his preface. However, it is an interesting read, if only to satisfy your voyeuristic tendencies and deep down desire to just laugh at people who are more idiotic than you. Sometimes I felt that certain details were glossed over or slightly slanted, and simply listing sources in the back doesn't quite satisfy me. I would never seriously quote a statistic from this book. However, I did enjoy how Largo obviously was mocking some of the more ridiculous ways to go out. Of course, not all of it is funny. Driveby shootings? Children abandoned in cars? Not funny. But ruptured stomachs or choking due to eating contests? Actually, that's just stupid.
July 17, 2007
A 4.5 stars book. Chock-full (or choke-full if you prefer) of interesting factoids about the banal and the more exotic ways we die. Despite the somewhat morbid title, it has more of The Onion-like flavor the way it's written, ie, more wry than depressing . Almost gave it 5 stars but two things kept me from doing so. One, I felt the author incorrectly attributed a causal relationship between two things just because they happen to be associated together. Especially when he was trying to make certain scientific claims...a big no-no and something that I just could not let slide (probably due to having taken way too much science!) And secondly, he's a bit tangential at times (though I don't think that's a huge problem for this book).
February 28, 2019
With so many creative ways to die, i am actually surprised if i will even survive to live another day 😮. It will either stress you to the limits or make you more relaxed with the idea of the unavoidable death.
Joking aside, this is one of those books i would have loved to rate them 5 stars. I damn enjoyed it, even though took me some time to process and finish.
But there are couple issues i couldn't really overlook:
1) As others mentioned, some statistics arent as accurate as they should be. And its a damn shame, since this is the core of the book.
Therefore, i had to take in everything with a grain of salt.
2) Highly misleading title. Its more of random pictures here and there, sometimes associated with the described death, sometimes not. Every death should have at least a picture describing it, to make the text more comprehensive.
For those reasons, my rating is around 3.5-4*. I enjoyed the black humor at parts and was astounded at the amount of ways someone could leave this vain world, so i leave it to 4*.
A book unlike any other.
As a final note, i would love a more curated second edition. Worth it to have a physical copy of the book in your library. Makes an interesting topic of discussion too (if your friends can handle the topic ofc 😎)
Joking aside, this is one of those books i would have loved to rate them 5 stars. I damn enjoyed it, even though took me some time to process and finish.
But there are couple issues i couldn't really overlook:
1) As others mentioned, some statistics arent as accurate as they should be. And its a damn shame, since this is the core of the book.
Therefore, i had to take in everything with a grain of salt.
2) Highly misleading title. Its more of random pictures here and there, sometimes associated with the described death, sometimes not. Every death should have at least a picture describing it, to make the text more comprehensive.
For those reasons, my rating is around 3.5-4*. I enjoyed the black humor at parts and was astounded at the amount of ways someone could leave this vain world, so i leave it to 4*.
A book unlike any other.
As a final note, i would love a more curated second edition. Worth it to have a physical copy of the book in your library. Makes an interesting topic of discussion too (if your friends can handle the topic ofc 😎)
July 13, 2017
A unique structure-the whole book is a bunch of stories and facts.
Had grammatical errors throughout though, which made me question some of the info in it.
Had grammatical errors throughout though, which made me question some of the info in it.
June 30, 2007
I happened upon this book while browsing at the Seattle Public Library, and enjoyed it so much that I purchased a copy. Not that I take pleasure in the contemplation of death, or preoccupy myself with morbid thoughts of an early demise, but I found this pop-encyclopedia to be damn fascinating.
In his preface the author explains, “It took more than ten years to gather the multitudinous statistics on fatality.” We might imagine him hanging around morgues, poring over thousands of coroners' reports. However he came upon his material, this project is impressive for the breadth of its categorizations and the numerous, and often gruesome incidents portrayed.
The book covers the common culprits: Heart Disease, Cancer, Automobiles, etc., but also has a particular emphasis on unusual ways of dying: Autocastration, Death By Umbrella, Narcissism, Quinsy, Kinky Hair Disease, Dandy-Walker Syndrome, ad infinitum…
The Big D is certainly a subject that relates to all of us, whether we accept it or not. It could be assumed that contemplating this book's portent might influence you to be overly cautious; apprehensive even to leave the house. Granted, it is good to be aware and take precautions. Yet, I would argue in favor of this book for the opposing P.O.V. I Mean, if there is a chance, however minute it might be, through some random, cosmic blunder…that today is the day when you will be taken out by a sniper, plowed down by an S.U.V., or plunked on the head by a meterorite…so be it, why worry about, or fear events that are out of your control?
Someday, my friends, we will all know death's enclosure…
In his preface the author explains, “It took more than ten years to gather the multitudinous statistics on fatality.” We might imagine him hanging around morgues, poring over thousands of coroners' reports. However he came upon his material, this project is impressive for the breadth of its categorizations and the numerous, and often gruesome incidents portrayed.
The book covers the common culprits: Heart Disease, Cancer, Automobiles, etc., but also has a particular emphasis on unusual ways of dying: Autocastration, Death By Umbrella, Narcissism, Quinsy, Kinky Hair Disease, Dandy-Walker Syndrome, ad infinitum…
The Big D is certainly a subject that relates to all of us, whether we accept it or not. It could be assumed that contemplating this book's portent might influence you to be overly cautious; apprehensive even to leave the house. Granted, it is good to be aware and take precautions. Yet, I would argue in favor of this book for the opposing P.O.V. I Mean, if there is a chance, however minute it might be, through some random, cosmic blunder…that today is the day when you will be taken out by a sniper, plowed down by an S.U.V., or plunked on the head by a meterorite…so be it, why worry about, or fear events that are out of your control?
Someday, my friends, we will all know death's enclosure…
November 11, 2012
Peerless toilet reading. And I mean that in the best way possible. This is a wry and zippy encyclopedia of various ways that people have died, focusing mainly on Americans in the last 150 yrs or so. Entries range from the relatively mundane (Lyme Disease), to Darwin Award worthy catastrophes (I now know that there's a pretty strict limit on the number of coffee enemas you can safely administer to yourself in a 24-hour period).
Basically the ways in which we can die are limited only by the objects that happen to be at hand and our own creativity (or stupidity) and this book is happy to take you on a sardonic fact-laden tour of those methods. Filled with a wealth of historical tidbits, cool images, and bits and pieces from various police reports and death certificates this is a book about death that manages to keep things light and airy instead of straight-up morbid…if that's your thing. Sticking to the encyclopedia format, the book is broken down alphabetically (The "P" section covers such ground as "Platform Shoes, "Poland's Syndrome", & "Potluck Dinners") with individual entries that are compact and breezy. All of which makes for really great subway reading, an occasional break between other books, or, as I said, an addition to your W.C. library. Just remember: "1,213 die from complications caused by aggressive toilet time each year."
…The more you know…
Basically the ways in which we can die are limited only by the objects that happen to be at hand and our own creativity (or stupidity) and this book is happy to take you on a sardonic fact-laden tour of those methods. Filled with a wealth of historical tidbits, cool images, and bits and pieces from various police reports and death certificates this is a book about death that manages to keep things light and airy instead of straight-up morbid…if that's your thing. Sticking to the encyclopedia format, the book is broken down alphabetically (The "P" section covers such ground as "Platform Shoes, "Poland's Syndrome", & "Potluck Dinners") with individual entries that are compact and breezy. All of which makes for really great subway reading, an occasional break between other books, or, as I said, an addition to your W.C. library. Just remember: "1,213 die from complications caused by aggressive toilet time each year."
…The more you know…
February 8, 2012
First of all, this encyclopedia is not really illustrated. Oh sure, there are some pictures, a few of the actual subject under discussion, but most of them are just stock photos. That was quite a disappointment. I thought I was going to see illustrations of actual dead people, which would probably gross me out at first, but I think I would be better off if I did more actual looking at death in the face. But anyway...disappointing illustrations.
The information in the book is really fascinating. Some of the information is so out of this world that I had a hard time believing it and had to keep checking that I was actually reading nonfiction. But yep, as best as I can tell, this information is real.
I guess I've always been interested in death and the way that our modern society covers up and sanitizes death, but since reading Stiff and watching all five seasons of Six Feet Under, I'm a little obsessed with learning more. This book is a step in that direction.
I helped someone on Whatsthatbook.com find this book, so I am putting it on my "found" shelf. Here's the link to the "finding this book" thread
http://www.whatsthatbook.com/index.ph...
The information in the book is really fascinating. Some of the information is so out of this world that I had a hard time believing it and had to keep checking that I was actually reading nonfiction. But yep, as best as I can tell, this information is real.
I guess I've always been interested in death and the way that our modern society covers up and sanitizes death, but since reading Stiff and watching all five seasons of Six Feet Under, I'm a little obsessed with learning more. This book is a step in that direction.
I helped someone on Whatsthatbook.com find this book, so I am putting it on my "found" shelf. Here's the link to the "finding this book" thread
http://www.whatsthatbook.com/index.ph...
November 2, 2022
I have made it a quarter of the way through this book and have decided it's not worth continuing.
I am aware this was published in 2006 and our knowledge on many subjects has improved, but some things in this book are just inexcusable, for example: the implication that mercury in vaccines is to blame for autism, and claiming people in need of a physicians care are called patients because they're always told to "be patient". And these are just the big obvious ones in the portion that i read.
Additionally, there is far too much focus on killers and not on their victims. Shouldn't we aim to remember those who died tragic deaths, rather than celebrating those that caused them? This is a book about dying after all, not about murderers. I'm not asking for a whole obituary or anything, but maybe just the victims name?
To top it all off, the book is poorly organized and formatted. It makes it difficult to follow at times because there's no natural flow.
Overall, I'm disappointed. I thought the morbidly curious part of me would really enjoy this book and instead was let down.
I am aware this was published in 2006 and our knowledge on many subjects has improved, but some things in this book are just inexcusable, for example: the implication that mercury in vaccines is to blame for autism, and claiming people in need of a physicians care are called patients because they're always told to "be patient". And these are just the big obvious ones in the portion that i read.
Additionally, there is far too much focus on killers and not on their victims. Shouldn't we aim to remember those who died tragic deaths, rather than celebrating those that caused them? This is a book about dying after all, not about murderers. I'm not asking for a whole obituary or anything, but maybe just the victims name?
To top it all off, the book is poorly organized and formatted. It makes it difficult to follow at times because there's no natural flow.
Overall, I'm disappointed. I thought the morbidly curious part of me would really enjoy this book and instead was let down.
September 22, 2007
This is my kind of non fiction - short excerpts of totally useless but highly entertaining information.
The writing itself is nothing to write home about and some causes of death don't really seem worthy of an entry (i.e. "dwarfism" - they have shorter life expectancy rates....zzzzzzzzz) but the causes are in alphabetic order and it's easy enough to skip around. Hop right to L's and find out about the man that died from Laughing for 3 days straight or go right for the R's where you can learn about the dangers of revolving doors, makes no difference! It is however sadly lacking an entry on shark attacks - what's up with that? people die from shark attacks don't they?
It's great company when you end up stuck in a hotel room with a group of good-for-nothing-lazy-sleep-iners that don't like to get up at 6:00 when they're on vacation.
The writing itself is nothing to write home about and some causes of death don't really seem worthy of an entry (i.e. "dwarfism" - they have shorter life expectancy rates....zzzzzzzzz) but the causes are in alphabetic order and it's easy enough to skip around. Hop right to L's and find out about the man that died from Laughing for 3 days straight or go right for the R's where you can learn about the dangers of revolving doors, makes no difference! It is however sadly lacking an entry on shark attacks - what's up with that? people die from shark attacks don't they?
It's great company when you end up stuck in a hotel room with a group of good-for-nothing-lazy-sleep-iners that don't like to get up at 6:00 when they're on vacation.
August 14, 2008
the cover of this book is repulsive but my kids were entertained as we slept in the tent and read about amusement park fatalities. This book was fun stuff. But I just don't trust the author.
57 kids died since 1990 due to toy basketball net entanglements?
golf carts cause 25 fatalities a year?
since 1970 2880 infants have died when entrapped in the footrest of a reclining chair?
since 1980, 9 kids have died by folded up cafeteria tables falling on them?
75 kids died of lawn darts from 1965-1988?
since 1958, at least 45 people have died because they were allergic to sperm?
that's what the author claims.
These are people we are talking about, not numbers, and each of these people have an absurd death. Someone had to speak at the funeral of the guy who was eaten by an alligator. and I guarantee he didn't use shadow puppets in his eulogy.
57 kids died since 1990 due to toy basketball net entanglements?
golf carts cause 25 fatalities a year?
since 1970 2880 infants have died when entrapped in the footrest of a reclining chair?
since 1980, 9 kids have died by folded up cafeteria tables falling on them?
75 kids died of lawn darts from 1965-1988?
since 1958, at least 45 people have died because they were allergic to sperm?
that's what the author claims.
These are people we are talking about, not numbers, and each of these people have an absurd death. Someone had to speak at the funeral of the guy who was eaten by an alligator. and I guarantee he didn't use shadow puppets in his eulogy.
July 30, 2017
Ever get a book and really, REALLY look forward to reading it. It is right up your alley, covering a topic you find fascinating. You start to read it, loving it...
And then , just ten pages into it you encounter a bit of scientific illiteracy so intense, so egregious, that it totally puts you off your feed.
Yep, now you know what it is like to be me. You poor fool.
In the entry on Acordynia (Mercury poisoning) the author felt the need to diverge from death to the spurious and totally disproved assertion that mercury in vaccines causes autism.
I put the book down and I am done with it.
And then , just ten pages into it you encounter a bit of scientific illiteracy so intense, so egregious, that it totally puts you off your feed.
Yep, now you know what it is like to be me. You poor fool.
In the entry on Acordynia (Mercury poisoning) the author felt the need to diverge from death to the spurious and totally disproved assertion that mercury in vaccines causes autism.
I put the book down and I am done with it.
September 4, 2021
As a true crime enthusiast, I found this book insulting. Largo clearly has done little to no research regarding many of the topics he has written about, which is not only clear by the contents of this book, but also his lack of citations and references. If you would like a few of the many examples of false information, this so-called "expert" confused the Heaven's Gate cult with the Solar Temple cult, did not tell the tale of the invincible Michael Malloy (Largo couldn't even recall that Malloy's name is not Mickey), and stated that the flue vaccine is the root cause of autism. Largo should put the pen down and open a book from a true expert.
November 11, 2022
From writing that mercury poisoning in vaccines cause autism in the first chapter, to World War Two apparently beginning in 1940 in the last chapter, this book is useless. Fun at times, yes, but the amount of typos, misinformation and wild statistics included make it impossible to believe anything written.
Out of date (2004), minority-phobic and entirely US-centric. For example, starts the section on wars with the US war of independence and lists exclusively only wars the US was involved in.
He rambles in each chapter and links random things together to bulk up his book. Far too many ‘scientists claim’ and ‘experts agree’ without stating which scientists and experts.
Out of date (2004), minority-phobic and entirely US-centric. For example, starts the section on wars with the US war of independence and lists exclusively only wars the US was involved in.
He rambles in each chapter and links random things together to bulk up his book. Far too many ‘scientists claim’ and ‘experts agree’ without stating which scientists and experts.
November 18, 2010
Fascinating. It was interesting to read about the many different ways in which people have died. In a way, this may sound sadistic, but death is a part of life that many of us do not see. On the other hand, this book almost left me wanting to know more. I know Largo researched these events, but I didn't know where he found this information. Some stories were almost hard to believe, and I'm not saying they were not true. I just wanted to know more details, that's all. Overall, this is a great book for my collection. I would recommend reading it. Look at spontaneous combustion, and hair.
February 26, 2009
The subject matter herein is worthy of the "Wow! What a great idea for a book!" thought or comment. It was very interesting to read, but not very entertaining (i.e. it took a really long time to get through). Endless stats, which are pretty boring, alongside anecdotes, some of which are really fascinating. My favorite part, fittingly at the books end, is the epitaph section. The book is billed as humorous, I found it decidedly not so. Grave matters, these... haha
September 25, 2014
I am so disappointed in this book! I stumbled upon it and thought the subject matter would be so interesting, and it still would be if I wasn't so bothered by the blatantly made up crap that fills the book! The citations are lacking to say the very least, and there are many statements that are outright false! Glad this was just a library find, wouldn't want to have lost money on such a waste of paper!
February 13, 2009
Fun, but should be taken with a grain of salt. Thanks to many years reading Carol's purloined Mortality and Morbidity Todays, I know some of his stats are farfetched, other stories are in the realm of urban legend, and as for his claim that 'researchers think giant squids are responsible for many disappearances at sea," well...
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