The Portable Obituary: How the Famous, Rich, and Powerful Really Died

The Portable Obituary: How the Famous, Rich, and Powerful Really Died

By: Michael Largo  

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Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5

No matter what your station in society, everybody has to go sometime. Even the wealthy, powerful, and world-renowned must ultimately meet their Maker—though some have departed this life more ignobly than they might have wished.

• From Mozart to rock and roll, which performers ended their lives on the wrong note?
• What famous U.S. bridge is named after an explorer who was eaten by cannibals?
• Everyone wants to hit the lottery, but does Lady Luck visit winners with deadly fangs?
• Plus: Learn the real fate of Gilligan's Island castaways and all your favorite TV actors as well as famous writers, senators, saints, dictators, and philosophers, among many others.

Michael Largo, the man who illuminated readers on the myriad ways of death in Final Exits, has compiled a fascinating, off-beat, and darkly humorous necrology that provides the grim, often outrageous details about the passing of influential persons. Meticulously researched—employing archaeological records, published obituaries, official documents, and forensic evidence—this authoritative, one-of-a-kind reference presents the unabashed truth about a multitude of celebrity deaths, while examining the various deeds, misdeeds, and lifestyle quirks that hastened the demise and determined the departed's role in history and popular myth. The Portable Obituary has the skinny on what made our late icons—whether through overindulgence or neglect: on the john, in the sack, or in some spectacular accident—what they are today: dead!

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks

Release Date: 2007-09-04

Customer Review: 3 out of 5
Good book -- Big problem - The Portable Obituary (Michael Largo, 2007). The jacket of this book reads, "A luridly compelling and hilariously macabre look at how the famous took their final bows--from Socrates to Anna Nicole." That statement is misleading, probably intentionally, to entice people to buy the book. Actually, the reports are straightforward and respectful, and each includes an interesting mini-biography. My only objection--and it's a big one--is that there is no index! True, the sections are labeled alphabetically; however, many entries are grouped in sections where they don't belong. For example, Don Knotts appears in the "G" section as part of the report on Eva Gabor; Mussolini is filed under "H" in a little group titled "Dead Dictators." And, how could I ever have found Buddy Holly and Patsy Cline under "N" unless I just happened to stumble over them? I did see Karen Carpenter as I was reading, but when I finished the book and tried to find her again, I could not. The book needs an index!

Customer Review: 3 out of 5
Death is for chumps - An entertaining and interesting read but the "famous" people chosen for inclusion in this book seem kind of arbitrary. There are many glaring omissions although, to be fair, how one could cover the deaths of all famous people throughout history in one volume is beyond me. Moreover, this isn't a very good book if you're keen to read some sensationalist accounts of lurid celebrity demises. In all honesty, most entries in this book are of people who died pretty typical deaths. However, this is full of enough biographical information and interesting facts to make it an enjoyable and irreverently morbid read.

Customer Review: 4 out of 5
Obit. - I heard of this book on a radio talk show. Couldn't wait to get home to order it. As usual, Amazon came right through by having it available.
A fun book and the same author has written several others which I intend to purchase as well.

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Essential Reading - Plenty of books obsessed with scandal and buzz words in the vein of Weekly World News have been written on the subject of celebrity death. The idea of a book that approaches this suggest with respect, intelligence, and a little book of good old-fashioned dark humor is a rare thing indeed. Which makes The Portable Obituary all the better. This is an enormously entertaining, insightful, and fascinating read. Essential for anyone who wants a book that actually knows what it's talking about.

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Portable Obituary- Largo Has Another Hit! - The "Portable Orbituary" is well written and easy to read. The book feeds our insatiable appetite for information on the famous, rich and powerful. Just as "Final Exits", Largo's previous book, is difficult to put down, his latest effort, "The Portable Obituary" will keep you page turning from start to finish.
Largo's latest book would make a great Christmas present for the celebrity junkies on your list.

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