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Morbid Curiosity: The Disturbing Demises Of The Famous And Infamous

"It's shocking and sinful, and I couldn't put it down!" -Joan Rivers The strange, startling, and utterly fascinating stories behind the world's most notorious celebrity deaths. Was Jayne Mansfield really decapitated? Which manly appendage of Napoleon's was cut off during his autopsy? (And where did it go?) What went to the grave (literally) with River Phoenix, Frank Sinatra, and Princess Diana? Death is fascinating. Just think about the last time you slowed down as you passed the scene of a car accident. When a public figure bites the dust, the curiosity only increases. From Attila the Hun to Marie Antoinette, from Heath Ledger to Anna Nicole Smith, the deaths of the rich and famous spark endless speculation and tabloid fodder. Their lives-and deaths-are grave matters.

Paperback: 222 pages

Publisher: TarcherPerigee; 1st edition (September 29, 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0399535276

ISBN-13: 978-0399535277

Product Dimensions: 4.6 x 0.5 x 8 inches

Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #418,917 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #338 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Trivia & Fun Facts #812 in Books > Self-Help > Death & Grief > Grief & Bereavement #1386 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Rich & Famous

Love it, love it, love it. This is a practical book that is crammed with stories of the deathstyles of the famous as well as the infamous. It answers all those questions about celebrity death that you may have always wanted to ask such as 'was Jayne Mansfield decapitated', but somehow felt you might be perceived as 'strange' if you really did ask. Fear no longer and get rid of any trepidation you may have had about asking those questions. You can buy this book, read it from cover to cover, and your friends and relatives will be clueless that you are a death junkie and you will not be labeled WEIRDO.Written with remarkable style and humor, the author has managed to cover a lot of material that will leave you chuckling. There are other books out there that provide similar information, but none do it as well. This book manages to take a lot of the stigma out of death. It is accurate and loaded with tons of interesting information concerning the deaths of well-known dead folks. You can liken this book as a cemetery guide for an armchair cemeterian.My only criticism is that I wish this book was bigger. Mr. Petrucelli undoubtedly has a lot of unused material out there that I know he didn't even touch on. Seems like he better get started on MORBID CURIOUSITY Vol. 2.

There are many books devoted to the deaths of the famous, but few quite as accomplished or entertaining as this one. First of all, the range of celebrities covered here is quite impressive. Sure, you get the usual Hollywood suspects (Marilyn Monroe, Natasha Richardson, Jon-Erik Hexum), but also such off-the-beaten-path oddities as James H. Bedford (the first human to be cryonically preserved), Jack Daniel (of Jack Daniels fame) and Pope Pius XII. An impressive mix. Impressive, too, is the amount of research the author has given to this book. It's likely that even entries on people you know about will contain some little gem of startling information. Most impressive, though, is the tone maintained throughout. It's funny, but never cheap-shot snarky. A difficult balancing act to bring off, but it's been done here successfully. True, if you're Ted Bundy's third cousin twice removed, you might be offended by the humor. But the rest of us should lighten up. Death is part of life, so let's enjoy it while we're here.Richard SandersSex Death Dream Talk

You wish he took more pleasure in describing the gory, controversial details (you know we love reading them!), but he skims over them or leaves them out altogether. The author resorts to cheap puns and doesn't seem to have a unique voice of his own. This book contains spelling mistakes such as the word "skill" where is should say "skull" there's a big difference between picking up chunks of skull and chunks of skill. I enjoyed reading it just because I like taboo subjects, but his style (or lack of) annoyed me to my core.

This book ended up not impressing me after page 50 after I came upon 4 discrepancies by then. He says Jack Lemmon is buried next to Walter Matthau. It isn't true. Close but not next to. Then he says that Betty Hutton was in an urn at her funeral. I have a copy of her death certificate snd it says she was a whole body burial. Then he says that Sammy Davis Jr. had an open casket funeral. I was there and it wasn't, plus he says the Hall of Liberty at Forest Lawn had 2500 people there. It only holds 1200 and that's why I got in, because they had seating left over.He's not that respectful to the departed, and likes to be cute about it all. I was hoping for something more serious. But for many, they will like this book.

Because of too many errors to comment on, I'll just post one. Probably one of the most heinous murders in California you would think an author could at least get some of the facts correct if he intended to write about it. Susan Atkins, the one that stabbed Sharon Tate to death, was not given immunity from the prosecutor, it was Linda Kasabian that was. This isn't earth shattering information that's hard to dig up. Apart from the catty remarks this author makes about the famous (apparently the ones he dislikes anyway) he should have boned up on the facts first. Some of his little ditties had a bit of humor, but it was usually like battery acid dripping on your head about most of them. Kind of cowardly as they're dead. It may be alright for a potty run read, but in the end save your money, it's alot like the other books written about the famous, too little fact and too much liberty taken by the authors..to sell their book no doubt...

I found this to be a good book on a wide variety of celebrities and their deaths. In fact the only thing I found I disliked was the author's snarky comments. It's easy to see which celebrities he respected and which ones he didn't. If you can get past the nasty comments, bad jokes, and off color puns, it's a pleasant enough read. I only hope that when it is his turn to be memorialized, the author of that tale is far kinder to him than he was to others.

I love gossip, rumor, and sleazy stories about the rich and famous! The truth beneath such sordid tales about our stars and heroes is the iconoclast's motto: "The Emperor has no clothes! (At least, not when his body was discovered!)"And a cautionary note to anyone who wants to quibble about details: stay away from books with titles like "Morbid Curiosity"! If you want nutrition, eat carrots and brussels sprouts-- this book's chocolate-covered marzipan, and quite delicious!

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