By: Wendy Northcutt
If you find humor in the self-destructive follies of others, you'll enjoy this book. The premise of the book, and its predecessors in "The Darwin Awards" series, is that some people improve the gene pool by removing themselves from it (or eliminating their ability to procreate) - thus winning the titular "Darwin Award"- through acts of remarkable folly. This last is important; suicides are not eligible, nor are accidental deaths of people who are not mature and in possession of their faculties. Deaths while willingly engaged in risky activities such as extreme sport or self-sacrificial activities such as fire-fighting or war are also excluded. No, a Darwin award winner has to do something really stupid, like fishing with electricity (an actual award winner from a previous book). With this basic idea in mind, the author has collected many interesting and often hilarious stories of "award winners." Where possible she has confirmed the veracity of the stories, and in any case notes whether the stories are confirmed or not. So although sometimes a little disturbing, it's a very entertaining read. (Non-fiction) 07/23/09
