Book description
A GUARDIAN, ECONOMIST AND PROSPECT BOOK OF THE YEAR 'A superb book' Simon Sebag Montefiore 'An empowering story of human ingenuity' Economist 'Full of curious facts' The Times Causes of death have changed irrevocably across time. In the course of a few centuries we have gone from a world where…
Why read it?
1 author picked This Mortal Coil as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I love this book partly because it’s a great source of facts and statistics about death and dying throughout the ages.
However it also tells a compelling story of how dying has changed: from short lives often ended abruptly by accident or infectious disease, to what sociologists call ‘the predictable death trajectory’ of gradual death from the diseases of old age and modern lifestyles.
I’m also intrigued by the author’s vision of death and dying in the future: maybe medical advances will even conquer death itself.
From Helen's list on how to die well: past, present and future.
If you love This Mortal Coil...
These Blue Mountains
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
Want books like This Mortal Coil?
Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like This Mortal Coil.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,395
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like This Mortal Coil, you might also like...
Need to Know
The authoritative but accessible history of the birth of modern American intelligence in World War II that treats not just one but all of the various disciplines: spies, codebreakers, saboteurs.
Told in a relatable style that focuses on actual people, it was a New Yorker "Best of 2022" selection and…
Tsunami
On the morning of December 26, 2004, an undersea earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean. The resulting tsunami killed an estimated 230,000 people across fourteen countries, from Indonesia to Sri Lanka to Thailand to the Maldives to India and all the way to East Africa.…
