We're all going to die, it's in the contract, but how will it happen? Today, although we live longer, people are killed by everything: bad words, bloodletting, flying cows, frozen toilets, hiccups, laughing, and spontaneous combustion are some of the unexpected causes. According to death certificates, in 1700 there were less than one hundred causes of death. Now there are more than three thousand. In the eye-opening and addictive Final Exits, causes of death, bizarre or common, are alphabetically arranged and include actual accounts of people, both famous and ordinary, who died in their own particular way.

Thoroughly researched, with uncanny historical detail covering burial customs, famous last words, and more than four hundred medical and historical illustrations from throughout the ages, Final Exits is more than just a trivia book. It is a portrait in words and numbers of human fate.

Between 1926 and 1930, over 3,200 people were electrocuted by toasters and these appliances still account for some deaths. Other unexpected killers include dentures, homemade ice-cream, microwaves, and sleep-eating. This A-Z compendium of the amazingly diverse causes of death and how famous and other people met their demise is well-documented, though some entries read like excerpts from Ripley's Believe it or Not!. None of the many illustrations are really grisly. This morbidly fascinating volume would be an appropriate complement to Mary Roach's survey of the fate of corpses in Stiff (2003).
Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Between 1926 and 1930, over 3,200 people were electrocuted by toasters and these appliances still account for some deaths. Other unexpected killers include dentures, homemade ice-cream, microwaves, and sleep-eating. This A-Z compendium of the amazingly diverse causes of death and how famous and other people met their demise is well-documented, though some entries read like excerpts from Ripley's Believe it or Not!. None of the many illustrations are really grisly. This morbidly fascinating volume would be an appropriate complement to Mary Roach's survey of the fate of corpses in Stiff (2003). Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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

"Final Exits is gross and engrossing. Volcano deaths, horse-and-buggy fatalities, and terminal narcolepsy are surprisingly common....A well-researched historical perspective on death." Wendy Northcutt, author of The Darwin Awards

"Convincing characters, brilliant dialogue....A profusion of detailed descriptions celebrate life while, thematically, Largo explores the mystery of death as transformation." Library Journal

Largo takes an eye-opening and irreverent look at the truth behind kicking the bucket — the definitive A-to-Z illustrated sourcebook on the ways people die. 400+ medical and historical illustrations.

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.)

Michael Largo has been collecting statistics and information on the American way of dying for over a decade. He is the author of the Bram Stoker Award-winning Final Exits: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of How We Die and three novels, the former editor of New York Poetry, and the researcher/archivist for the film company Allied Artists in Atlanta. He lives in Miami with his family.