Non-Fiction Book Reviews
Book Review: Morbid Curiosity
By Sandy Amazeen Nov 1, 2009, 1:07 GMT
The strange, startling, disturbing, and utterly fascinating stories behind the world\'s most notorious celebrity deaths.Death sells. Just about everyone slows down upon passing the scene of a car accident, wanting to look but ashamed of their grim fascination with another\'s unfortunate end. And when a public figure bites the dust, the fascination increases tenfold. From historical figures like Attila the Hun and Sir Walter Raleigh to contemporary names like River ...more
People have long been fascinated by the rich and famous, even more so by their demises untimely and otherwise. Petrucelli’s lifelong obsession with dead celebrities dates back to childhood visits to his grandparent’s grave which, as fate would have it, was close to Basil Rathbone’s resting place. This led him to seek out more about the celebs, their lives, deaths and the gritty details in between. What emerges are thoroughly entertaining insights about the real people behind the personas with all their strengths and fallacies.
Whether it’s the premature death of rising star Lya De Putti due to a lodged chicken bone in 1931 or the last will of gonzo journalist Hunter Thompson who wished his ashes to be shot out of a specially designed cannon, there’s trivia galore. Fast, engrossing and just plain fun, Petrucelli puts a light spin on death that leaves readers looking for more.
