Death: The Scientific Facts to Help Us Understand It Better

Our love of life makes the inevitability of death very difficult to accept. Death is a comprehensive examination of that inevitable and universal human experience. To better our understanding of death--and so perhaps fear it less--the book explains the biological processes and the different causes of death, and examines the human perceptions of death throughout history and across cultures.

Death is abundantly illustrated with masterpieces of art, paintings and sculptures and their representations of death, as well as abundant diagrams that explain the science of death. It methodically explores the biological limits of life, the rituals of death and describes the events surrounding the loss of life, using the most current research and medical analyses.

Chapters cover diverse topics associated with death. They include:

• Consciousness and the soul
• How the body dies
• Terminal illness and dying slowly
• Methods of death
• Poisons, deadly animals and plants
• Flu pandemics, the new viruses
• Unsanitary conditions and deadly diseases
• Murder and execution
• Euthanasia and ethics
• Creatures from beyond the grave
• Violent and dramatic deaths
• Cheating death.

Death is sprinkled generously with humor and the wisdom of the great thinkers. Reflecting on our philosophical, scientific and spiritual understanding of death, it speaks to our visceral fears and allows us to better appreciate life.

Richard Béliveau is a professor of biochemistry at the University of Quebec, where he conducts research in the prevention and treatment of cancer. He is also a research fellow in neurosurgery at Notre-Dame Hospital, professor of surgery and physiology at the University of Montreal, and research associate at the Center for Cancer Prevention at McGill University.

Denis Gingras is a researcher specializing in oncology at the University of Quebec at Montreal. They are co-authors of Foods That Fight Cancer and Cooking with Foods That Fight Cancer.