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Final Exits: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of How We Die
 
 
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Final Exits: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of How We Die (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: wasfound dead, ofa heart attack, kinky hair disease, New York, United States, New Jersey (more...)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)

List Price: $15.99
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Every mortal should read this book, before they find themselves in its pages." (Daniel Handler )


Product Description

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.)


Product Details

  • Paperback: 496 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (October 3, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060817410
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060817411
  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.3 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #231,422 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category: (What's this?)

    #70 in  Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Reference

More About the Author

Michael Largo
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Customer Reviews

20 Reviews
5 star:
 (11)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Learn what not to do and live longer!, April 9, 2008
From suffocating on bean bag beads to sticking chicken bones up your hole this book has it all, every possible way for a human to die. Did you know in December 2004 a woman ate tapeworm larvae in order to lose weight or that in April 2002 gang members shot a deaf woman in the face because they thought she was flashing gang signs? Well, it happened and it's in here along with thousands of other interesting stories. It's hard to pick my favorites, but I did especially love the one about the moron who climbed on top of a cage full of tigers and started using the bathroom.

Despite the grim subject matter Largo keeps it mostly upbeat. Example: the story about "Mr. Hands" (from the infamous horse/man love video) is entitled "The Beast Within".

For more great death stories check out "Answer Me!" #3's run down of the Top 100 Suicides.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Full of Errors, May 5, 2009
By Jennifer (Highlands Ranch, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews
I really wanted to like this book!

There are just too many errors in the book to take it seriously. Most of them are minor (he states a pair of aces is known as the "Dead Mans' Hand, which is really 2 pair, aces and eights), but some are pretty big. He somehow consolidates the Order of the Solar Temple with the UFO cult "Heaven's Gate." They're both cults famous for mass suicides, but they're definitely different groups.

I quickly realized that I couldn't trust his information, and it took a lot of the fun out of reading this book.

Also, it's kind of scattershot and random. The blurb about children under 3 choking on chewing gum wasn't under children, or choking or even chewing gum, it was under "Rice Cakes." The bit about deaths during bridge construction wasn't under construction or bridges, it was all somehow under "Hoover Dam." This was repeated over and over, throughout the book.

What a disappointment. With better editing and fact-checking, this would be a fascinating book. As it is, it's a waste of time and money
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating catalog of death and how to become dead, August 19, 2008
By B. Feinstein (Glen Allen, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Absolutely fascinating stuff. If you are into factoids and trivia, are fascinated by death and how people die, have a morbid streak, or like Mary Roach's STIFF, this book is for you. I found it very readable, very entertaining and with a sardonic streak that fits the subject matter like a glove. Recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Author too lazy to do actual research
Interesting bits of information, amusing anecdotes, but the author could at least do a little research about the cases he presents. Read more
Published 18 days ago by Sam Thayer

1.0 out of 5 stars Save your money!
I checked this book out of the library, thank God. If I had bought it, I would have been furious. It contains so many falsities and errors that I could not make it through a third... Read more
Published 1 month ago by The Bookworm

4.0 out of 5 stars The Life You Save May Be Your Own
Most of us are intrigued by death. Michael Largo clearly is not only intrigued by it, he took a great deal of time & effort in compiling this encyclopedia of "how we die"... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Larry Underwood

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty interesting book...
This book is full of things I would never even think you could die from. It's done in an A-Z format and next to the word is a short story of how people have or could die from such... Read more
Published 3 months ago by T. Messer

3.0 out of 5 stars Ho-Hum
Great idea, unfortunately the research was very poor. There are also no citations, which makes me believe many of these stories are just fiction. Read more
Published 3 months ago by B. Freels

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Own
I'm not exactly the "curl up with a good book " type, but I often find this hard to put down. This book is extremely fascinating. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Z. GREEN

5.0 out of 5 stars "The problem with quotes about death is that the majority of them were written by people not yet dead."

If you enjoy books about strange and unusual things you will be captivated with what you'll find in this collection facts and information as to how people die;or in the... Read more
Published 20 months ago by J. Guild

5.0 out of 5 stars This book was a fun read!
This book was very enjoyable. Its funny how strange human history is. I even was speaking with my husband on how bad the world has become, my husband's reply was simply "It's... Read more
Published on July 19, 2007 by AquaOpal

5.0 out of 5 stars final exits: the illustrated encyclopedia of how we die
This is a great book. It is a little macabe, but that works for us. My children 9 and 13 love the book too. Read more
Published on June 8, 2007 by Niko

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Book
I am a medicolegal death investigator for a medical examiner's office, and this book is awesome. It is very informative and entertaining. Read more
Published on March 8, 2007 by Jill A. Haslam

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