Book review: 'History's Weirdest Deaths' is a little weird

I thought about saving this book review for Halloween season. I mean, it is, after all, a book about death. But Halloween is quite a few months from now and publishers usually want reviews out sooner, rather than later. So here we go!

I was curious about, "History's Weirdest Deaths." Was it actually all about death?

It totally is.

Image from Portable Press

"History's Weirdest Deaths" is all about the strange ways people have died throughout history. While it does have a few deaths pre 1850s, most of the deaths recorded occurred within the past 100 years, many within the past few decades.

I wasn't expecting that.

For some reason, reading about recent deaths is extra spooky. I'm not sure why, it just is. Reading about deaths from several hundred years ago didn't affect me like reading about someone's sad/awful/accidental death that's happened in my lifetime.

Image from Portable Press

For instance, "History's Weirdest Deaths" talks about the death of John Jones, who died almost a decade ago in Utah's Nutty Putty Cave. I remember reading about his death on the news and it hit me hard because I HAD BEEN IN THAT CAVE! I had crawled and squirmed through many of those tight spaces myself. When he died, in November of 2009, leaving behind his pregnant wife and 2-year-old daughter, it was sad.

But then reading about his death in a book that touts the weird was also sad. Sad because it didn't mention the heartbroken family he left behind. It didn't mention he had been a medical student and had a wife who fiercely loved him. Instead, this book mentioned the weird circumstance of his death: that he got stuck in a cave, upside down, suffocated to death in 28 hours, and rescuers were never able to retrieve his body, sealing the cave up instead.

Okay, so that IS a weird way to die. I'll admit that. But it felt a little heartless reading about his death in a book meant to entertain when I'm positive his family and friends didn't find anything about it even remotely entertaining. That made me start wondering about all the other deaths I was reading about in "History's Weirdest Deaths." Were other, heartbreaking, details left out as well?

Bottom line about this book: if you are interested in the strange, weird, and even macabre ways people have died, this book is totally for you. However, if reading about death, no matter how unique, makes you sad, then stay far away. My middle-grader got this book, read the first three pages, put it down, and said, "Mom, when you review this book say it isn't for kids. It's creepy." And none of my kids have gone near it since.

Image from Portable Press

Book breakdown:
128 pages
There are a few black and white illustrations
Best for ages: Adult
Educational factor: None (unless you count learning what not to do to stay safe)
Christian content: None
Parents could be concerned about: A few deaths in this book happened while people were involved in sexual activities. Also, this entire book is about death and imaginative kids might not be able to handle so many gruesome details.