Book Review – Death: A Survival Guide

100 ways we die and how to avoid them by Dr Sarah Brewer (Quercus) ISBN: 978 0 85738 6106

This is a non-fiction reference book setting out a hundred ways a person can die.

It describes death resulting from drowning, electrocution and heart attacks to less common causes of death such as boredom, snoring and sleep. The book gives enough detail of each cause of death to have a basic understanding of it, but hardly has enough information to be an authoritative source.

For more detail alternative sources would have to be consulted. Each death describes why it kills, what would happen and how to avoid it. These sections are often unnecessary.

Overall, despite that the subject matter being morbid, it is a good all-round book, which is written in plain language and gives enough detail to ensure a basic knowledge of each instance of death.

Michele van Eck
4/5