They Went That-A-Way: How the Famous, the Infamous, and the Great Died [Paperback]

Malcolm Forbes (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

More fun and games from Chairman Malcolm, a master of the short take in his magazine (Forbes) and books (Fact and Comment, The Further Savings of Chairman Malcolm). This time it's 150 capsule biographies, each based on how the subject died. Died? Yes, died. In alphabetical orderhandy for trivia quarrelswe learn that Alexander the Great and Sen. Joe McCarthy were done in by drink, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin OD'd on fame and drugs, actor James Dean and Gen. George Patton each got it from an oncoming vehicle, George (Superman) Reeves and Ernest Hemingway shot themselves. Saint Lawrence was roasted, Sir Walter Raleigh beheaded, Wild Bill Hickok shot in the back, French revolutionist Marat stabbed in his bath. The Roman historian Pliny died under fire from Mt. Vesuvius, Rasputin was poisoned, shot, beaten and drowned. Rich man Alfred Lowenstein fell from an airplane. This macabre parade, written with freelancer Bloch, is undeniably fascinating, and the bottom-heavy (so to speak) profiles are entertaining and informative. Preferred Choice Bookplan alternate.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 2nd edition (October 14, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345362500
• ISBN-13: 978-0345362506
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #336,967 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book - perhaps a misunderstood title, November 7, 2000

By 

K. Barnes (Austin,TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: They Went That-A-Way: How the Famous, the Infamous, and the Great Died (Hardcover)

I passed up this book at a bookstore thousands of times, but finally took it off the shelf and saw the very fine print of the subtitle: "How the famous, the infamous and the great died". Not the topic I had expected! I love trivia, so my interest was piqued.
From the dust-jacket flap:
"Here, for your entrancement and enlightenment, are exits made by 175 people famous during the past 3,000 years".

The book covers people from John Jacob Astor IV to 'Mama' Cass Elliot and Ivan the Terrible to Virginia Woolf. Don't know who the person was? Forbes does briefly discuss how the person became famous (or infamous) and sometimes adds in some deliciously odd twists that occurred during the person's life. He then, of course, tells you about their (often) bizarre or ironic deaths.

Forbes speaks in language that is colorful and he keeps you so interested that you want to read it from front to back even though you could really pick up the book and turn to any page to learn something that you didn't know before. I enjoyed it immensely.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Different, June 21, 2001

By 

B. Barrett (Kansas City, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: They Went That-A-Way: How the Famous, the Infamous, and the Great Died (Paperback)

They Went That A-Way is a collection of over 150 1-2 page sketches of famous personalities, mostly from the 19th and 20th centuries. Each sketch contains a short summary of the person's life and accomplishments, then a description of how they met their end. The book is well done, however I found it a little depressing, as the majority of the personalities were dysfunctional, dying from alcoholism, drugs, or suicide.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great subject, very interestingly written, August 30, 2008

By 

Nikos Argiriou (Thessaloniki, Greece) - See all my reviews

This review is from: They went that-a-way: How the famous, the infamous, and the great died (Hardcover)

Malcolm Forbes was a very interesting figure indeed.
Great subject he has chosen to write, and he wrote it very lively and colorful.
The book has short biographies of many interesting figures in history, and describes the not-so-known-facts about how they died.
I used to read this book at bedtime, because its such a good way to go to sleep happily knowing that we all die and we should take care of us, each other and the whole world - as long as we live today, and not let ourselves get carried away about things we plan to do in the distant future.