Suicide and Attempted Suicide (Paperback)

~ Geo Stone (Author) "Throughout the world, about two thousand people kill themselves each day..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, United States, Forensic Science (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

This is essentially a guide on how to commit suicide, or alternatively, stage a ``safe'' suicidal gesture. Stone (who has studied pharmacology at George Washington University Medical School and the National Institutes of Health) offers little backgroundpersonal, occupational, educational, familial, religious, or otherwisewhich might help readers absorb this work into some kind of useful discussion. Stone does set out his basic premises: first, that it is each person's right to make decisions concerning his own death, and second, that most decisions to commit suicide are due to temporary problems and are therefore tragic mistakes.'' Stone goes on, in a pragmatic, almost cold-blooded, tone to set out an immense amount of information on suicide and attempted suicide. He delineates four groups of people who attempt to kill themselves: rational people facing an insoluble problem, usually fatal illness; those acting on impulse, temporarily miserableand often drunk; those who are irrational due to depression, schizophrenia, or alcoholism; and those who are making a desperate bid for attention or help. Stone also looks at issues around terminal illness and euthanasia. In Part II, he explains the following methods of killing oneself: asphyxia, cutting and stabbing, drowning, drugs, chemicals, poisons, electrocution, gunshot, strangulation, hypothermia, and jumping. He includes explicit instructions on how to go about each method, and what the likely physiological damage will be if the attempt fails. Difficult as all this is to take in, there is moreinformation on how to make a relatively safe suicidal gesture will certainly confound readers, as will descriptions of autopsy results and asides on the strange and various ways people hurt themselves. The technical information here is accurate. But to approach such a stunningly painful, morally loaded, politically hot subject constructively, we need more than information. We need to know who our guide is, how he has come to this place, how and why his view was formed. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Too often attempted suicide leads to unintended consequences, because ignorance is deadly and desperation can be fatal. In this morally courageous book, Geo Stone sets out to diminish the lack of awareness about suicide, from the tragedy of teenage suicide to the debate over assisted suicide.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; Paper edition edition (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786709405
• ISBN-13: 978-0786709403
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #364,861 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

328 of 330 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Suicide Cookbook, April 19, 2003

By	insteadlaugh "an evolving consciousness" - See all my reviews

"Suicide and Attempted Suicide: Methods and Consequences" by Geo Stone is a cookbook. But instead of teaching you how to make a soufflé or Peking Duck, it has recipes for death. Like any good cookbook, the methods are clearly categorized by chapter (such as asphyxiation), and each has step by step instructions, as well as medical background about how it works, how difficult it is to do, what could go wrong, and what to do in each case to ensure lethality.

There's no nonsense here. You won't be talked down to or patronized. It's accurate and precise information written by a doctor who has studied each method. This makes it an important and interesting book because there is very little accurate information on this subject available. Dr. Stone is clear to point out that there are many misconceptions about suicide methods in the general public. And if you're going to play with fire, don't you think you it is wise to know what you're doing?

Just like any cookbook the author does not make tangential remarks about why he made this book. But there is an underlying message of personal responsibility here that can be gleaned from the book's introduction and Dr. Stone's dark humor.

Part One of the book describes suicide in broad terms, speaking of the different kinds of people who in the past had made successful or unsuccessful attempts. And there's a clear warning that due to lack of information some people who didn't really want to die, end up making the tragic mistake of using a method that is much more lethal than intended. The reverse warning is also here: That for those who wanted to die, and took action without clear thought often results in waking up in an Emergency Room with a damaged body or a slow and painful death.

Personally, I am more familiar with genuinely wanting to die rather than using a suicide attempt as a gesture for attention. When I read this book, I was depressed and specifically purchased the book for the "recipes" in Part Two. I was amazed to discover how many choices you have, even when your goal is the same. As I continued to read, I realized that these methods would always be there, waiting for me, tucked away like a fire extinguisher. Despite the great pain that you might be feeling, I realized that there is no need to rush things. I could execute one of these methods, and ensure my death, at any time I chose.

What I'm about to say might sound strange to you initially, but this feeling of certainty and control over your own destiny is something that I hadn't felt before. So, now, as I finished reading, and put it back on the shelf, I wondered what things in life existed to which I had not properly been introduced. If there were so many ways to die, could there be even more ways to live? I believe this feeling of control and certainty that I now felt is what kept the book on the shelf and me in the game. I hope that if you purchase this book, you will experience a similar feeling.

72 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not the best book on suicide, but the best on suicide method, March 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Suicide and Attempted Suicide: Methods and Consequences (Hardcover)

(...)this is a book about which it's hard to be neutral. If you think that suicide is always wrong, a sin, or a crime, you won't like it: the book provides lots of "how-to" information that can be used to commit suicide. But at the same time there is an anti-suicide thread running through the text---time and again, the author suggests delay, alternatives, and medical treatment, so the in-your-face pro-suicide crowd (small, but vocal) won't be happy either. Further, the author's website contains, among other things, lots of grisly photos that seem intended to discourage suicide.

Unlike Gaul, the book is divided into two parts. The first half is an overview of suicide, covering history, causes of suicide (considered through sociology, psychiatry, and biology), American and Dutch end-of-life medical practices, and a few related areas. Compressed into a little over a hundred pages, this broad coverage is not terribly detailed but functions well as a summary and is both interesting and well done.

The second half describes, with sometimes weirdly-fascinating factoids, what is known about suicide methods (the "how-to" part) and their medical consequences (the "why-you-probably-shouldn't-try-them" part). If you're interested in suicide methods, this is the best source of information available. If you're not, there's far more information here than you want to know. Trust me.

The book's layout is poor. References are in the back organized by chapter, but pages in the text don't have chapter headers, so it's easy to lose your place, whilst flipping back and forth. Footnotes are at the end of each chapter instead of at the bottom of the page, another annoying practise, and there are a surprising number of typso. <g>

In sum, if you want to know why people kill themselves, there are better sources. If you want to know how, this is your book.

47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most thorough book on the subject. . ., March 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Suicide and Attempted Suicide: Methods and Consequences (Hardcover)

This is the definitive book on the subject, exhaustively researched, and yet quite readable...

As I read this book, I was struck that this is not so much about suicide, as about self-determination (...). I began reading this out of a sense of professional obligation, but quickly found the book surprisingly interesting. There is a wealth of detail presented, with the solid and sobering information relieved by the often wickedly amusing (albeit occasionally warped) footnotes.

While the "how to" sections are quite graphic, the reader can readily find areas of interest through the clear chapter subheadings, and thereby skip those that might be either too gory or too technical. But the detail presented is here out of necessity-for how else can the individual make an informed decision?

This book clearly does not advocate suicide. It provides individuals with the information to make a better decision about their future. For example, if someone wishes to make a gesture, it gives them guidance about appropriate choices that will not leave them off in an even worse state.

As a physician, I was a bit put off by the author's criticism of docs. I think he underestimates the chilling effect the threat of professional criticism and repercussions has. Of course, there is also the effect fear of more serious legal action (eg charges of murder) has on the willingness of physicians to be more active in this area. This extends to efforts in the area of pain relief (such as by providing adequate doses of morphine) which are often inappropriately criticized as excessive. Also, as he notes, docs have been very poorly educated regarding pain control.

I highly recommend this thorough reference work, the most definitive work I have seen on this controversial subject. It is far more than a "how to" manual. It is both a reference book, as well as a thoughtful resource, providing objective information, historical information, and perspective on this difficult topic.