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bettyjett's review against another edition
2.0
Ummm... I would think that prior to writing a book like this you would fact check, then have someone else fact check, AND then someone in the editing/publishing room would fact check. But I know nothing about writing a book. This is a fast interesting read until you read details that are incorrect, and then when you reach the end after second guessing everything you've been reading ...there are the sources...and Wikipedia and IMDB are the first two sources listed... Yeah.
caitpoytress's review against another edition
1.0
I would say that the editor of this book did an abysmal job, except I don't think there even was one.
mehitabels's review against another edition
3.0
even having read biographies or synopses of the lives and deaths of many of these public, talented, and tragic people, it was an interesting retrospective of the tortured artist.
nothing like a little vulturing to remind oneself of the comfort of obscurity.
nothing like a little vulturing to remind oneself of the comfort of obscurity.
karenleagermain's review against another edition
3.0
Alix Strauss explores the methods and reasoning behind famous suicides in history, breaking the sections based on the profession of the deceased. She also includes facts and statistics about suicide.
I saw this book a few years ago at Powell’s and it has been sitting on my TBR bookcase. I decided to take it on a recent vacation to Los Angeles and finished it up while waiting at a car dealership. I have to warn would-be readers that the subject matter and book cover will initiate some very awkward conversations with strangers. A car salesman seemed to think that I might be suicidal and offered some deep advice. It got weird.
I’m not suicidal. However, this book would not be a good choice for a person who has suicidal ideation. Strauss provides some very specific information about methods of suicide. This is information that anyone could easily find with an internet search, and she certainly doesn’t glorify suicide, yet to a person who might be having those thoughts, I could imagine that reading this could influence them. One of the statistics that startled me the most involved suicide by jumping, how bones breaking and piercing organs is usually the cause of death. I never thought about bones piercing flesh and that is an image that I have had on my mind.
I picked this book because I have been affected by suicide. My father killed himself with a gun shot to the head. This trauma has shaped my life and I’m forever trying to understand it. Krauss’ chapters on suicides using guns was of particular interest to me. I don’t have clarity on the “why”, but I now understand the mechanics of the method.
I found many of the stories to be fascinating, particularly what leads people to kill themselves. I discovered that Dorothy Dandrige is buried in the same mausoleum as my parents- they are death neighbors! Her story is especially tragic. I was particularly interested in the chapters involving writers. Hemingway was such a character. I also connected with the Kurt Cobain section. He died when I was a teenager and was the first big celebrity death that I felt impacted by. I remember going to school the next day, wearing my Nirvana shirt, and feeling a sense of mourning with my friends. It may seem like teenage melodrama in hindsight, but reading about Cobain’s public funeral took me back to that time and those emotions.
I found Death Becomes Them to be an engrossing read, but due to the subject matter, I would be hesitant to recommend it, as it was made abundantly clear through Strauss’ examples, you never know what is really going on in a person’s mind. Also, if you read it, don’t carry it around in public, unless you want some uncomfortable conversations and unsolicited advice.
I saw this book a few years ago at Powell’s and it has been sitting on my TBR bookcase. I decided to take it on a recent vacation to Los Angeles and finished it up while waiting at a car dealership. I have to warn would-be readers that the subject matter and book cover will initiate some very awkward conversations with strangers. A car salesman seemed to think that I might be suicidal and offered some deep advice. It got weird.
I’m not suicidal. However, this book would not be a good choice for a person who has suicidal ideation. Strauss provides some very specific information about methods of suicide. This is information that anyone could easily find with an internet search, and she certainly doesn’t glorify suicide, yet to a person who might be having those thoughts, I could imagine that reading this could influence them. One of the statistics that startled me the most involved suicide by jumping, how bones breaking and piercing organs is usually the cause of death. I never thought about bones piercing flesh and that is an image that I have had on my mind.
I picked this book because I have been affected by suicide. My father killed himself with a gun shot to the head. This trauma has shaped my life and I’m forever trying to understand it. Krauss’ chapters on suicides using guns was of particular interest to me. I don’t have clarity on the “why”, but I now understand the mechanics of the method.
I found many of the stories to be fascinating, particularly what leads people to kill themselves. I discovered that Dorothy Dandrige is buried in the same mausoleum as my parents- they are death neighbors! Her story is especially tragic. I was particularly interested in the chapters involving writers. Hemingway was such a character. I also connected with the Kurt Cobain section. He died when I was a teenager and was the first big celebrity death that I felt impacted by. I remember going to school the next day, wearing my Nirvana shirt, and feeling a sense of mourning with my friends. It may seem like teenage melodrama in hindsight, but reading about Cobain’s public funeral took me back to that time and those emotions.
I found Death Becomes Them to be an engrossing read, but due to the subject matter, I would be hesitant to recommend it, as it was made abundantly clear through Strauss’ examples, you never know what is really going on in a person’s mind. Also, if you read it, don’t carry it around in public, unless you want some uncomfortable conversations and unsolicited advice.
mookiesbooks's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
For those curious of the true stories of celebrities who took their own lives
laurenash's review against another edition
3.0
"When we see someone who we think has everything going for them, and they kill themselves, it confuses us. It throws our values into question."
2.5 stars. Some reviewers have noted that Death Becomes Them is like a glorified collection of Wikipedia pages about each person. To that I say, "So what?" But, like others have mentioned, there are some really problematic things about this book. With any book, ESPECIALLY a non-fiction, proper editing and fact checking is half the battle. It just seems so careless to overlook that and publish it as is. And when someone notices the inaccuracies, it'll immediately make them distrustful of future information, which happens to be the case here.
So, why the 3 stars, then? Its format is nice and easy to follow and once I actually sat down to read this book, I blew through it. Death Becomes Them, even with all of its misinformation and flippancy, was still a quick/interesting read.
2.5 stars. Some reviewers have noted that Death Becomes Them is like a glorified collection of Wikipedia pages about each person. To that I say, "So what?" But, like others have mentioned, there are some really problematic things about this book. With any book, ESPECIALLY a non-fiction, proper editing and fact checking is half the battle. It just seems so careless to overlook that and publish it as is. And when someone notices the inaccuracies, it'll immediately make them distrustful of future information, which happens to be the case here.
So, why the 3 stars, then? Its format is nice and easy to follow and once I actually sat down to read this book, I blew through it. Death Becomes Them, even with all of its misinformation and flippancy, was still a quick/interesting read.
fitzkristin's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting concept, but it was riddled with cliches and poorly fact-checked.
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