The Book of Extraordinary Deaths

On the surface, The Book of Extraordinary Deaths, my second book published by Penguin Random House, is a collection of bizarre demises throughout the history of human kind. At its core, it is meditation on life’s ironies and a reminder of how little control we have over this mysterious world.

These are some nice things people said about The Book of Extraordinary Deaths:

"This slender, magnificent book is about the central tragedy of human existence, the dreadful final reckoning to which all flesh is heir. It's an absolute hoot."
—Gene Weingarten, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and columnist

“Illustrator Cecilia Ruiz navigates readers through a graveyard of bizarrely ironic and often darkly humorous demises in The Book of Extraordinary Deaths… [with] illustrations that would make Edward Gorey and Charles Addams proud… Mystery and crime readers are sure to enjoy this engrossing and morbidly entertaining collection. Those who revel in quirky trivia will also find this assemblage of outrageous epitaphs a real scream.”
—Shelf Awareness

“Cecilia Ruiz brings her stylish illustration style and singular aesthetic to The Book of Extraordinary Deaths. This book spans centuries and explores a host of unique and unsettling exits from this mortal coil—making it an unpredictable look at some memorable corners of history.”
—Tobias Carroll, Read it Forward

You can buy The Book of Extraordinary Deaths here
Here's the French edition
Here's the Spanish edition

Isadora Duncan, the famous American dancer, died of a broken neck when her long scarf got caught in the wheel of an automobile in which she was a passenger.

Homer and Langley Collyer were compulsive hoarders. The reclusive brothers were found dead in their Harlem home, surrounded by more than a hundred and twenty tons of clutter they had accumulated for decades. Various items were guarded by booby traps set up by Langley to keep intruders away.

It is believed that he accidentally activated one of his traps while bringing food to Homer, who had lost his eyesight years before. Langley suffocated under a pile of debris, while his brother died of starvation and heart disease a few days later.

Frank Hayes, a trainer-turned-jockey at Belmont Park, New York, died of a heart attack during the course of his first race. His horse, Sweet Kiss, finished in first place with Haye's inert body still attached to the saddle. Sweet Kiss was renamed Sweet Kiss of Death and no one ever dared to ride her again.

An entire visiting soccer team was killed by lightning during a local match in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Every single player on the opposing home team survived.

Leonard Warren, a baritone at the New York Metropolitan Opera, died while performing the role of Don Carlo in La Forza del Destino. Warren suffered a massive heart attack as he began to sing the opening lines of his third-act aria, "Morir! Tremenda cosa!"—To die, what a tremendous thing.