The whole death catalog : a lively guide to the bitter end
(Book)

Includes index.

Serial-killer biographer and mystery novelist Schechter{u2019}s compendium on the perpetually fascinating subject that is his stock-in-trade is enhanced by such browser-friendly features as recommended reading lists and sidebars recurring (e.g., ?Death Fun Fact????????plenty of those) and singular (?Going Out Viking Style?), not to mention waggish, Gorey-esque illustrations. Useful facts and distinctions abound; for instance, the necrophilia section informs readers of the need to distinguish ?necrophiliac homicide????????murder committed for the purpose of having sex with the corpse{u2014}from ?regular necrophilia,? that being the ?more socially acceptable? sex with corpses, the case cited being that of ?a female embalmer who had sexual intercourse with 20{u2013}40 male corpses.? For the practical minded, Schechter mentions a Web site enabling devotees of life planning to preview epigraph options by creating virtual tombstones, and in ?Corpse-napping: Ransoming the Dead,? he assesses the chances of success in that grisly enterprise. Do-it-yourself features include ?You, Too, Can Be a Mummy (and So Can Fido)? and a how-to guide to ?Victorian Postmortem Photography.?