Behind this breezy run through the lives and deaths of philosophers throughout history is a serious point. We don't think or talk about death enough. ( )

Does what it says on the tin, which unfortunately does not include much by way of synthesis, especially in the face of 190 (really) individual synopses. Which is a pain because Simon Critchley's voice is funny, warm, interesting, and I would very much like to buy him a drink. I have been reading this book all day and now I am writing like he does. Hello guys, I'm Simon Critchley.I still want my epitaph to be a lyrical excerpt from Prince's "Darling Nikki:" "Thank U 4 A Funky Time/Call Me Up Whenever U Want 2 Grind." ( )

Interesting Collection

I thought this was a serious book about philosophy which this book is not. Nevertheless, I felt that it was an amusing light-hearted read. "The Book of Dead Philosophers" by Simon Critchley is really like an chronological index of a bunch of world philosophers, a brief summary of their philosophical contribution, then an anecdote about how they died.

The purpose of the book as Critchley states in the introduction is to "humanize" these individuals whom we have placed up on the pedestal. I definitely appreciated his breadth in covering Eastern philosophers as well and not limiting himself to Western philosophers.

Not much depth, but I still recommend this book for anyone looking for a casual read about philosophy. Don't expect any complex analysis or academic jargon, just a simple book about a bunch of people who had ideas about life and how they died. ( )

I tend to be pretty generous in my review of books -- I genuinely like most of what I read. But Simon Critchley's Book of Dead Philosophers is an exception. This book was pretty much completely terrible. The premise is amazing; he proclaims that he's going to look at how philosophers have viewed death and also discuss some of the ways said philosophers met their own end. From the first few pages of the book, I was very interested in comparing how philosophers have viewed death.

Once Critchley actually starts discussing these issues, the book become a rather flaccid catalog of philosophers coupled with weak summaries of their ideas with an equally disappointing discussion of their deaths. Reading The Book of Dead Philosophers has all the excitement of reading the cargo manifesto of a Dutch freighter. Take for instance, his treatment of the philosopher Demetrius:

Fatally bitten by an asp

That's it. What the heck even include this entry unless you've just decided to list ways that these people died, no matter how generic and uninteresting they are. Lactantius does a much better job of it if you're into that sort of thing.

As far as I can tell, Critchley has a rather materialist view of death and has little to say about other views beyond a mild amusement and dismissal. Aside from a few passing nods, anything outside of the western tradition is overlooked. Indian philosophy is entirely ignored as is Buddhism. Islam and Judaism aren't much better treated. Critchley's views are beside the point to me -- he can believe what he likes. My problem is that his treatment of the subject matter is so superficial as to be meaningless. Avoid this book. ( )