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Suicide Note
Mitchell Heisman, the man who shot himself September 18, 2010 in Harvard Yard, killed himself as ”Experimental Elimination of Self-Preservation,” according to an extensive suicide note he has published online. The note is over 1,905 pages long, and divided into complicated subsections. In its totality, the document sketches Heisman’s dense, heavily-cited social, political, and ethical philosophy, and promotes his book, heretofore unpublished. Heisman worked in several bookstores throughout the area, and consulted with Harvard professors in the process of writing the document.
Most arresting of all: the note — tome, really — is probing, deeply researched, and often humorous. Heisman personality and erudition shine through every page, as he traces the philosophical steps that have led him to suicide: not really desperation or depression, but rather, intellectual curiosity, and a desire to test the limits of the unknown. After a quick read, comparisons to Albert Camus’ “The Myth of Sisyphus” abound. All the more sad that such a deeply intelligent young man would choose to cut his scholarly output off at one, interesting book.
Most arresting of all: the note — tome, really — is probing, deeply researched, and often humorous. Heisman personality and erudition shine through every page, as he traces the philosophical steps that have led him to suicide: not really desperation or depression, but rather, intellectual curiosity, and a desire to test the limits of the unknown. After a quick read, comparisons to Albert Camus’ “The Myth of Sisyphus” abound. All the more sad that such a deeply intelligent young man would choose to cut his scholarly output off at one, interesting book.
1905 pages, ebook
First published September 18, 2010
174 people are currently reading
3304 people want to read
About the author
Mitchell Heisman
2 books53 followersMitchell Heisman killed himself by shooting himself on the Harvard University Campus.
Just before his death he published a 1905 pages long book online which he called his Suicide Note" The book spanned topics like human nature, society, religion, technology and science.
Heisman held a bachelor's degree in psychology from Albany University.
Just before his death he published a 1905 pages long book online which he called his Suicide Note" The book spanned topics like human nature, society, religion, technology and science.
Heisman held a bachelor's degree in psychology from Albany University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
May 15, 2015
I knew Mitch and so it is hard to enjoy his book when wanting instead to discuss it with him. He kept the true topic of his studies hidden.
What I can say is that it is both insightful, brilliant at times and sort of a self entombment searching for the self fulfilling prophecy that if there is no clear total meaning, then one can deconstruct meaning, instinct and purpose into oblivion.
I really wish I had been able to discuss his book with him.
What I can say is that it is both insightful, brilliant at times and sort of a self entombment searching for the self fulfilling prophecy that if there is no clear total meaning, then one can deconstruct meaning, instinct and purpose into oblivion.
I really wish I had been able to discuss his book with him.
December 10, 2013
The deadman's tomb (it is ok to make jokes at the author's expense by now) is a long, harrowing adventure across humanity's existence and humanity's collective philosophy. It is, above all, Heisman's personal work, and is truly a suicide note, left to explain why he has chosen to off himself. It was as if he were trying to defend his own suicide, his own depression, by pulling off the ultimate act of human dignity: suicide by reason. He failed in this task, but instead showed us a remarkable view of his insecurities while creating a ludicrous synthesis of western thought that is, somehow, implicitly and explicitly, both parody and not parody.
Heisman's stated reason for killing himself are, essentially, that he wants to do an experiment. This experiment is seeing whether or not his book is stopped from being read- truth be told everybody can read it, and this is well-remarked upon in other places. But, that is not the reason he kills himself. The reason he kills himself is this hypothesis: if he wants to do the experiment truly objectively, then, he reasons, he must be dead because the fact that he is alive means he has tendencies to view the data in a subjective way. Furthermore, because he says Western thought is increasingly moving towards the abolishment of anthrocentrism, materialism means that whether or not he is alive does not matter.
Thereby, his suicide is the result of him trying to do this experiment subjectively.
Bullox. He gives, like a bad magician, away most of his secrets at the beginning and the end of the book. The rest is filler material. Heisman shows quickly that he is not psychologically healthy- despite having a degree in psychology. He has a desperate occupation with Judaism, despite being atheist, that stems from the early death of his father and the resulting mental isolation that resulted from the rest of the world. His chapter names, though funny, are meant to be both true and offensive. It speaks to an incredible narcissism- where he essentially states that none but he have been honest with themselves- that he seeks to both find followers and to offend in his death.
The actual content of the tomb is a sort of magnification of history that ultimately results in his experiment as the turning point. Firstly, we begin with his concentration on the battle of the "natural" versus the "unnatural." The natural is the biological, the unnatural is the technological. The first seeks its own survival, its own replenishment, while the latter does neither. It is, ultimately, suicidal. It is Heisman's own repetition of Singularity theory, and it is interlaced with Jewish commentary, which he obsesses over. He says that the Jews developed their own religion, which is inherently unnatural, inherently suicidal. This tendency was spread through mankind by Jesus, who himself was suicidal because of his own internal conflicts about his father. Indeed, Heisman uses psychoanalysis to present and accept, or at least flirt with the idea, that Jesus was the son of a Roman soldier. The technology of religion, morphing into the unnatural sciences, will eventually result into a singularity, AI-God.
He then backs up, and begins tracing the lines of political powers. The Viking, the Saxons, and so on, to show that America, instead of being the battle ground of Whigs versus Tories, is actually the battle ground of Saxons versus Normans. Suicidal tendencies, once more, erupt in this center of the population, as they die for ideals and freedoms.
This summary does not do the Note any justice, however. The book is too large, too repetitive, and too unedited to really make a true dent into what Heisman is trying to say. He has paragraph after paragraph that rambles, repeating the same idea in different ways. His grammar, and, sometimes, his spellings, make no coherent effort in being true. He asks questions many times through the journey, and he never answers them. He makes us ask question, and those are not answered.
It seem that he killed himself so that, while he may not have attention in life, he may get attention in death. Well, I've obliged him.
Heisman's stated reason for killing himself are, essentially, that he wants to do an experiment. This experiment is seeing whether or not his book is stopped from being read- truth be told everybody can read it, and this is well-remarked upon in other places. But, that is not the reason he kills himself. The reason he kills himself is this hypothesis: if he wants to do the experiment truly objectively, then, he reasons, he must be dead because the fact that he is alive means he has tendencies to view the data in a subjective way. Furthermore, because he says Western thought is increasingly moving towards the abolishment of anthrocentrism, materialism means that whether or not he is alive does not matter.
Thereby, his suicide is the result of him trying to do this experiment subjectively.
Bullox. He gives, like a bad magician, away most of his secrets at the beginning and the end of the book. The rest is filler material. Heisman shows quickly that he is not psychologically healthy- despite having a degree in psychology. He has a desperate occupation with Judaism, despite being atheist, that stems from the early death of his father and the resulting mental isolation that resulted from the rest of the world. His chapter names, though funny, are meant to be both true and offensive. It speaks to an incredible narcissism- where he essentially states that none but he have been honest with themselves- that he seeks to both find followers and to offend in his death.
The actual content of the tomb is a sort of magnification of history that ultimately results in his experiment as the turning point. Firstly, we begin with his concentration on the battle of the "natural" versus the "unnatural." The natural is the biological, the unnatural is the technological. The first seeks its own survival, its own replenishment, while the latter does neither. It is, ultimately, suicidal. It is Heisman's own repetition of Singularity theory, and it is interlaced with Jewish commentary, which he obsesses over. He says that the Jews developed their own religion, which is inherently unnatural, inherently suicidal. This tendency was spread through mankind by Jesus, who himself was suicidal because of his own internal conflicts about his father. Indeed, Heisman uses psychoanalysis to present and accept, or at least flirt with the idea, that Jesus was the son of a Roman soldier. The technology of religion, morphing into the unnatural sciences, will eventually result into a singularity, AI-God.
He then backs up, and begins tracing the lines of political powers. The Viking, the Saxons, and so on, to show that America, instead of being the battle ground of Whigs versus Tories, is actually the battle ground of Saxons versus Normans. Suicidal tendencies, once more, erupt in this center of the population, as they die for ideals and freedoms.
This summary does not do the Note any justice, however. The book is too large, too repetitive, and too unedited to really make a true dent into what Heisman is trying to say. He has paragraph after paragraph that rambles, repeating the same idea in different ways. His grammar, and, sometimes, his spellings, make no coherent effort in being true. He asks questions many times through the journey, and he never answers them. He makes us ask question, and those are not answered.
It seem that he killed himself so that, while he may not have attention in life, he may get attention in death. Well, I've obliged him.
January 19, 2012
This is potentially the most dangerous book ever written, and as for other reviewers who question the connection with nihilism, I'm given the impression that they didn't actually read the book, as Heisman explains in extremely long-winded detail how he came to his "experiment".
July 24, 2019
Table of contents reads like an /x/ iceberg post, it's ok
July 13, 2021
I came across this book from one of the 'fact pages' on Facebook. My hopes had been quite high for the contents within nd I'd been anticipating reading it for a long time before I finally picked it up.
But to say that it was a disappointment is an understatement.
The book begins with the author's notion of why Death is the ultimate end-goal and he phrases that well with a few arguments. He also uses pre-emptive Ad-Hominem to defend his points.
But from there on, it all goes downhill he talks about the concept of a God-AI where people can upload their consciousness in the form of a perfect AI and states that humanity is headed towards a future like that. But that's about it. Just a concept, with nothing leading up to such a conclusion, which he touches occasionally throughout the book.
The rest of the book instead, is about Judaism. The author uses Judaism and its followers to describe traits as it they are something unique to the Jews, forgetting the rest of the world apart from that which is culturally influenced Abrahamic religions.
In fact, he pander on about Jews for so long that reading this book reminds me about reading Mein Kampf. Well, even Hitler didn't talk about Jews so much and stuck to his visions instead.
I tried reading this book, but I couldn't find anything within which I could deem of value. The index seemed quite amazing, but the contents themselves read more like a poorly written manifesto more than anything else. I tried skipping ahead a few pages only to find out that he keeps talking about Jews right up until the very end, never really addressing Death or his vision of the God-AI.
And so, I decided to drop it. Maybe someone who is far more politically inclined in the modern sense of first-worldly inclinations might find this book valuable as a supporting or antagonising tool, but for me, this book is a hard pass.
It's like a 2,000 page clickbait and I don't really understand how any of his arguments about Death even relate to his suicide.
But to say that it was a disappointment is an understatement.
The book begins with the author's notion of why Death is the ultimate end-goal and he phrases that well with a few arguments. He also uses pre-emptive Ad-Hominem to defend his points.
But from there on, it all goes downhill he talks about the concept of a God-AI where people can upload their consciousness in the form of a perfect AI and states that humanity is headed towards a future like that. But that's about it. Just a concept, with nothing leading up to such a conclusion, which he touches occasionally throughout the book.
The rest of the book instead, is about Judaism. The author uses Judaism and its followers to describe traits as it they are something unique to the Jews, forgetting the rest of the world apart from that which is culturally influenced Abrahamic religions.
In fact, he pander on about Jews for so long that reading this book reminds me about reading Mein Kampf. Well, even Hitler didn't talk about Jews so much and stuck to his visions instead.
I tried reading this book, but I couldn't find anything within which I could deem of value. The index seemed quite amazing, but the contents themselves read more like a poorly written manifesto more than anything else. I tried skipping ahead a few pages only to find out that he keeps talking about Jews right up until the very end, never really addressing Death or his vision of the God-AI.
And so, I decided to drop it. Maybe someone who is far more politically inclined in the modern sense of first-worldly inclinations might find this book valuable as a supporting or antagonising tool, but for me, this book is a hard pass.
It's like a 2,000 page clickbait and I don't really understand how any of his arguments about Death even relate to his suicide.
October 16, 2011
I don't care about "the singularity," but the middle chapters on Norman/Anglo-Saxon conflict are fascinating.
August 10, 2018
This is truly a one of a kind. Surely you've read about famous suicide notes before, surely you've seen big history books explaining big events through small causes, surely you're read Big Science books that look for a Theory of Everything, but something like Mitchell Heisman's Suicide Note only comes once in a life-time.
So it's a 1,900 page long goodbye letter from an eccentric thirty-something American Jew who dedicated the last five years of his life to a thorough investigation into the sociobiological origins of liberal democracy. Ever present are the emergence of monotheism trough Judaism and the 1066 Norman conquest; two events which, Heisman argues, set humanity on the path to liberal democracy and eventually to the coming of God-AI.
Though his style sometimes warrants the judgment "rambling", it's hard to escape the notion that this is perhaps the greatest rambling in literary history. Yes, there is a lot of repetition, and there is a lot of jumping from one topic to the other. Yes, his methodology and source material are at times questionable (both sociobiology and Ray Kurtzweil have come under a lot of scrutiny). Still, the scope and skill that come together in this thesis is overwhelming. Blending science, history, philosophy, literature, and futurism into a both a mindblowing overview of the past as well as an awesome prediction of the future, Suicide Note is well worth the read.
So it's a 1,900 page long goodbye letter from an eccentric thirty-something American Jew who dedicated the last five years of his life to a thorough investigation into the sociobiological origins of liberal democracy. Ever present are the emergence of monotheism trough Judaism and the 1066 Norman conquest; two events which, Heisman argues, set humanity on the path to liberal democracy and eventually to the coming of God-AI.
Though his style sometimes warrants the judgment "rambling", it's hard to escape the notion that this is perhaps the greatest rambling in literary history. Yes, there is a lot of repetition, and there is a lot of jumping from one topic to the other. Yes, his methodology and source material are at times questionable (both sociobiology and Ray Kurtzweil have come under a lot of scrutiny). Still, the scope and skill that come together in this thesis is overwhelming. Blending science, history, philosophy, literature, and futurism into a both a mindblowing overview of the past as well as an awesome prediction of the future, Suicide Note is well worth the read.
December 19, 2019
Beta Boy!!
This is what happens when you are a confused young man who is controlled by emotions but want to appear that you are controlled by your intellect. Heisman immersed himself in too much information but had no backbone to navigate it. This is a ramble of research, that tries to be clever and insightful but fails miserably.
This is what happens when you are a confused young man who is controlled by emotions but want to appear that you are controlled by your intellect. Heisman immersed himself in too much information but had no backbone to navigate it. This is a ramble of research, that tries to be clever and insightful but fails miserably.
November 24, 2018
I was going to read more than 50 pages of this, but after already spending several months reading Breivik's manifesto I figured, "Why give *another* crazed suicidal reactionary attention by reading his nearly 2k-page document of endlessly repetitive cope? Naaah.
April 25, 2022
Unorthodox, straightforward, like a personal notebook.
July 23, 2016
I agree with the user who said this could possibly one of the most dangerous books ever written...I was kind of getting that vibe too! I'm only about 40 pages in, but already I am AMAZED and ASTOUNDED by the intelligence of this man. He is really just as thorough and logical as Aristotle and Socrates, except he had a fascination of over-analyzing reason itself, which eventually lead to death.
As much as people will automatically 'hate' on this book before even reading a single page of it, it's a more incredible book than 98% of the population would ever be able to come up with. I'm not sure I'll read too much more (but I do have marked a few more particularly interesting chapters) just because I'm afraid of knowing all that he did. He was a genius, and unfortunately, these genius conclusions of his lead to his death. I think I'll live better with peaceful ignorance.
He says in his book that many people choose not to be free due to their xenophobia of death...this is true, but I have wayyy too many things I want to do in life, and wayyy too many things I'm curious about to ever potentially be able to call quits! Including: I'm curious to see how I die. In my last minutes (or seconds) before death, I'd be able to think "So this is how I die...this is how old I grew to be..." And I want that to forever be a mystery.
But anyway...if you're considering reading this, you should at least skim through the table of contents. There's several topics, all of which are INCREDIBLY interesting. There's even a bit of humor to it. Although death is seen as a really dark, scary thing, this Mitchell guy was 100% accepting of death, and didn't see it at all as a bad thing. He simply came to terms with it. If you think this book is going to be a really depressing thing...it's not. It doesn't sadden me, it just makes me think of life in the brutally honest way I don't want to see it in. (It's even up beat looking with the table of contents written in orange and purple in a fun font! This guy isn't looking for your sadness or pity, he's just trying to make a point.)
As much as people will automatically 'hate' on this book before even reading a single page of it, it's a more incredible book than 98% of the population would ever be able to come up with. I'm not sure I'll read too much more (but I do have marked a few more particularly interesting chapters) just because I'm afraid of knowing all that he did. He was a genius, and unfortunately, these genius conclusions of his lead to his death. I think I'll live better with peaceful ignorance.
He says in his book that many people choose not to be free due to their xenophobia of death...this is true, but I have wayyy too many things I want to do in life, and wayyy too many things I'm curious about to ever potentially be able to call quits! Including: I'm curious to see how I die. In my last minutes (or seconds) before death, I'd be able to think "So this is how I die...this is how old I grew to be..." And I want that to forever be a mystery.
But anyway...if you're considering reading this, you should at least skim through the table of contents. There's several topics, all of which are INCREDIBLY interesting. There's even a bit of humor to it. Although death is seen as a really dark, scary thing, this Mitchell guy was 100% accepting of death, and didn't see it at all as a bad thing. He simply came to terms with it. If you think this book is going to be a really depressing thing...it's not. It doesn't sadden me, it just makes me think of life in the brutally honest way I don't want to see it in. (It's even up beat looking with the table of contents written in orange and purple in a fun font! This guy isn't looking for your sadness or pity, he's just trying to make a point.)
October 8, 2012
This lost a star from me for the sheer extent of repetition. Its 1900 pages could have been streamlined by at least 30% without losing much at all. For example, after what must have been around 1000 pages of his theory explaining how the Normans sculpted the Anglo-Saxon race, a Chapter title is "How the Normans Sculpted the Anglo-Saxon Race". There is a 5 star sci-fi novel hidden in here, and there are some excellent insights.
Of course, it is a tragic read because this work is related to Mitchell Heisman's rationalization for committing suicide.
Of course, it is a tragic read because this work is related to Mitchell Heisman's rationalization for committing suicide.
May 13, 2020
What a tragedy. What human potential Heisman could have attained if something calmed his troubled soul? I think centuries from now, this work will be discussed in schools because of its notoriety, like "Industrial Society and its Future" while the millions of irrelevant academic papers will be forgotten and never cited again.
June 29, 2020
Pretentious veering between sociobiological explanation and psychoanalyzing the global legacy of the Norman conquest and Jewish influence on intellectual fields from genetic engineering to artificial intelligence.
November 22, 2018
Pobre hombre, descanse en paz. Un Philipp Mainlander de nuestra época.
June 12, 2019
Genius and madness are often the same thing. This is but confirmation.
August 13, 2025
This may be the worst book I've ever read. I could probably summarize this in one sentece:
Philosophical depressed student analyses western culture with a nihilistic perspective and looks at sources that line up with his views, resulting in a book about the fall of western civilization.
Now maybe the western world has gone down in some fashions(which other books mentoon on, and as the economy can show), but not only are they not properly shown in this book, but this book brings out information that is simply not necessary to understanding today's world.
I would give this book a 0 if I could, but considering it is dense and the author clearly put time into it, I will give it a 1. Read it if you want, but I think it is a waste of time.
Philosophical depressed student analyses western culture with a nihilistic perspective and looks at sources that line up with his views, resulting in a book about the fall of western civilization.
Now maybe the western world has gone down in some fashions(which other books mentoon on, and as the economy can show), but not only are they not properly shown in this book, but this book brings out information that is simply not necessary to understanding today's world.
I would give this book a 0 if I could, but considering it is dense and the author clearly put time into it, I will give it a 1. Read it if you want, but I think it is a waste of time.
March 1, 2024
Gave up 1,435 pages in because I've read about as long in half the time. It just beats you over the head with Judaism led to communism, the Norman Conquest gave us Obama, and those are apparently examples of convergent evolution towards AI. So I kind of figured maybe he figured that since we can overcome the body, why have one? Definite incel subtext as well.
March 21, 2024
It’s fine but a bit too long (this did not need 2000 pages, I skipped like half lmao) and the stuff about Jews is just directly lifted from Nietzsche. Bit too much of a modern take on historiology. The part about Normans was really interesting though; haven’t seen that take anywhere else). Interesting take on God though.
September 4, 2025
After getting through about half of the book, the mental gymnastics became difficult to comprehend as anything other than post-hoc cherry-picking to buttress his wonderfully complex decision to commit suicide. Some valuable insight to chew on, but reads like a long-winded, enigmatic regurgitation of loosely connected ideas and platitudes.
September 14, 2023
4.5/5
This was a very thoughtful read. The Narrator had good character development and overall the plot was not easily expecting. I loved the Note from the Author. I give it an extra .5 because the audiobook narrator, Barrett Leddy, was on point.
This was a very thoughtful read. The Narrator had good character development and overall the plot was not easily expecting. I loved the Note from the Author. I give it an extra .5 because the audiobook narrator, Barrett Leddy, was on point.
June 11, 2024
This is a historical encyclopedia disguised as a philosophy text disguised as a suicide note. He's a brilliant and unique thinker, but comes off as extremely spergy. The book is unedited and probably could use some trimming and rearranging.
June 28, 2021
The book is good but this fuck*ing site is absolut garbage!
July 4, 2021
*listens to dystopia once*
September 15, 2024
In the end of it all, it truly is a suicide note at its basest.
An interesting thought process on humanity’s core from a man who justifies ending his own life.
An interesting thought process on humanity’s core from a man who justifies ending his own life.
August 26, 2022
My men Mitchell should have tried reading some snuff to take his edge off."Hurr durr nobody beside me ever glorified death" go outside.
The concept of incredibly long winded suicide note seems novel but Leopardi (with Zibaldone) and (arguably) Nekojiru (with Nekojiru So) did the whole getting in bed with death thing much more organically without the forced pseudo sterility that spews from all pores of collection of disorganized ideas. (Along with many others who touched individual and whole subjects of the book much better.)
What is the appeal of this work? The forced sterility is both a boon and bane to the book, I enjoyed the period like writing of a stuck up Phd graduate using and coming up with period appropiate arguments along with personal aphorisms. This book is most beneficial to someone who needs to familiarize themselves with a sort of Anglo Philosophical Suicide with all the implications that comes with the bundle from appropiation of unrelated continental philosophers to drawing grand historical narratives to constant complaints and hate boner on social and liberal democracy which the book still bases all its assumptions on with the most important action the author having taken is a symbolic self immolation as part of a peaceful protest.
Veneer of nihilism applied over to specific parts of the book makes it very tone inconsistent though. I gave it a very low note anyway, the book itself is hardly enjoyable even if the whole school project, google doc feel of the book made it easy to read and the dictionary used for it was thin enough to breeze through it quickly.
The concept of incredibly long winded suicide note seems novel but Leopardi (with Zibaldone) and (arguably) Nekojiru (with Nekojiru So) did the whole getting in bed with death thing much more organically without the forced pseudo sterility that spews from all pores of collection of disorganized ideas. (Along with many others who touched individual and whole subjects of the book much better.)
What is the appeal of this work? The forced sterility is both a boon and bane to the book, I enjoyed the period like writing of a stuck up Phd graduate using and coming up with period appropiate arguments along with personal aphorisms. This book is most beneficial to someone who needs to familiarize themselves with a sort of Anglo Philosophical Suicide with all the implications that comes with the bundle from appropiation of unrelated continental philosophers to drawing grand historical narratives to constant complaints and hate boner on social and liberal democracy which the book still bases all its assumptions on with the most important action the author having taken is a symbolic self immolation as part of a peaceful protest.
Veneer of nihilism applied over to specific parts of the book makes it very tone inconsistent though. I gave it a very low note anyway, the book itself is hardly enjoyable even if the whole school project, google doc feel of the book made it easy to read and the dictionary used for it was thin enough to breeze through it quickly.
December 19, 2022
Honestly, I have this saved on my phone so I can always read it anytime I'm bored. Perfect for Uber rides (and discussions with your Uber driver).
August 15, 2022
Nice book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 16, 2025
Great going retard
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews