The Darwin Awards Next Evolution (Hardcover)

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Key Phrases: slush pile, mosquito spit, anonymous eyewitness account, Darwin Award, Reader Comments, Confirmed True (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Evolution takes a giant step forward with the fifth edition of the New York Times bestselling phenomenon.

The human race’s most popular humor series returns with a new collection of macabre mishaps and misadventures. Honoring those who improve our gene pool by inadvertently removing themselves from it, The Darwin Awards Next Evolution shows how uncommon common sense still is.

About the Author

A graduate of UC Berkeley with a degree in molecular biology, Wendy Northcutt began collecting the stories that make up the Darwin Awards in 1993. She 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.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult (October 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525950850
• ISBN-13: 978-0525950851
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #115,258 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Common sense... isn't., January 1, 2009

By	Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

You can't help but shake your head and laugh over the incredibly dumb things people do that eliminate them from the gene pool. Wendy Northcutt offers up her next installment of these gems in her book The Darwin Awards Next Evolution. It's not a long read (I think I read it in a couple of hours), but it's well worth the entertainment value. You'll laugh, shake your head, and cringe at how people (usually men) can be so stupid and short-sighted in their activities...

The book is divided up into chapters that cover miscellaneous mishaps, electrical extinctions, vehicle victims, medical maladies, criminal capers, work woes, combustion crazies, and animal antics. There are both true Darwin award winners (people who either died or made themselves unable to reproduce, therefore cleansing the gene pool) and at-risk survivors (those who came real close to leaving the gene pool, but by some miracle survived to get a second chance). Northcutt also attempts wherever possible to confirm the story or list it as possible but with no background documentation (like news stories). So generally speaking, you're getting honest-to-goodness boneheaded plays here.

There's the guy who decided to get drunk by somewhat unconventional means (alcohol enemas, anyone?), and "consumed" three liters of sherry. Needless to say, the next morning he had the ultimate hangover (dead) with a BAL of .47. Then there's the two kids in Denmark who took their uncle's car out onto the frozen Baltic Sea, thinking the ice was solid enough to hold them. It wasn't, but fortunately wasn't very deep. They followed this brilliant idea by getting a second car out onto the ice to pull the first one out. Same result. At least the third time they tried a tractor. And yes, that one fell through also. Consider them survivors at risk. And then there's my favorite (an at-risk survivor)... Three guys decide to do flaming alcohol shots. Problem is, no one told them they were supposed to blow out the flame before drinking. One of the guys finally gets enough courage and downs the shot (flame and all). The flame goes out, but his mouth is pretty toasted on the inside. Not to be outdone, his friend fills up a shot glass to the rim and lights it. Of course, it sloshes and starts his hand and the counter on fire. To stop the damage, he tries to drink the rest, only to spill it on his sweatshirt and face. Now *everything's* burning! His friends stop laughing long enough to beat out the flames with kitchen towels before anyone or anything is too damaged. No Darwin award, but so funny to image...

Unless you have a soft spot for those of the human species who lack the common sense gene, you'll have a great time reading Next Evolution. It'll also make you feel much better about your own stupid decisions...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good stuff, but, well, a bit pricey, January 10, 2009

By	Stephen J. Snyder "Socratic Gadfly" (Lancaster, Texas United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon, of course, doesn't set book publishers' suggested retail price, but the prediscounted $19.95 for a book whose size barely warrants a hardcover version, especially when the Darwin Awards has its own website and people like me will blog about true crime, including fatal true crime, and similar stuff, is kind of steep.

That said, as to the book itself?

This type of stuff IS great reading material for laughs and giggles. As recently exemplified by the LA. Comuniter train crash where text messaging appears to be involved, there are people still dumb enough to find ever new ways to eliminate themselves - and sadly, others with them at times - from the gene pool.

In this latest installment, you'll find people doing dmb things with driving, with explosives, with chemistry and more.

Mencken's anecdote about never underestimating the stupidity of the American people shows itself to have worldwide reach.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the award was received posthumously...., November 19, 2008

By	Richard Cumming "dick" (the heartland) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

A fool and his life can be quickly parted. Since 1993, Wendy Northcutt has memorialized hundreds of anonymous idiots with her Darwin Awards. If you go to her website at www.DarwinAwards.com you can see the criteria that she uses for honoring these unfortunates.

This latest offering is morbidly entertaining. How many ways can a person die? How many ways can a person die as the result of a stupid, self-inflicted accident? Apparently, the possibilities are endless.

This is a very funny book in a very sick way. There's something hilarious about these ridiculous demises and tragic maimings. I'm not sure what it is? It's not ghoulish, just foolish.

There, but for the grace of a slightly higher IQ (I hope), go I.