Death: A User's Guide

by Tom Hickman

Everything you always wanted to know about life when you’re six feet under.

Let’s face it, death is one of the most important events in life--and it never hurts to be prepared. Herein you’ll explore such provocative questions Is there life after death? Is the Hereafter sexist? And most How do you know you’re dead? This eye-opening collection of amusing tidbits, historical facts, and macabre curiosities probes the mysterious state that has stymied scholars and spiritualists since the beginning of time.

Did you know…

* An Australian woman had her husband’s ashes inserted in her breast implants, to keep him close
to her heart (see page 118)

* Heavy drinking combined with excess body fat can result in Spontaneous Human Combustion (see page 191)

* Statistically, you’re more likely to be killed by walking (660–1) than by lightning (55,000–1)
(see page 193)

PLUS Sex and Death * Graves of the Rich and Famous * Body Snatching and Grave Robbing * Ghosts, Ghouls, and the Undead *

And Much More!

Genres: Nonfiction, Death

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Tom Hickman has worked as features writer, features editor and editor on various national magazines, newspapers and for the BBC.

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loaned this to a co-worker recently so it was sitting on my desk after she gave it back. I picked it up and thumbed through it again during a slow day and realized it was absolutely riddled with factual errors (the one that stands out in my mind is the instance in which the author refers to "Maurice" Applewhite, leader of the "Heaven's Gate" cult, rather than "Marshall" Applewhite, which is his actual name). Most of the errors would have been easily caught with a good editor or fact checker. Thusly, I am reducing my initial review from four stars to three.

[MKF · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book if you want to learn about death and dying. Tom Hickman packed this small book full of the basics so will learn about all the wonderful topics. Still it is not very in depth so if there is more about a topic you want to know then you will have to look elsewhere. As for how humorous it is suppose to be it is lacking.

[Nigel Hetherington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything you need to know

[Aim · Rating 5 out of 5]

i really liked this book. fun to read, lots of interesting infos about various rituals, lots of interesting/funny anecdotes.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

A handy pocket book of all things death for those who like to randomly chat about death.

[Gary]

Lightly for a deep and meaningfull subject but I think that's the purpouse. A lot of funny and creepy facts.