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Summary: Nothing to do with natural selection
Review: It's amusing to read the assertion that conscientious objectors of the Darwin Awards just don't appreciate, or just can't handle the implications of science: these science-minded DA defenders apparently don't understand that a handful of random & accidental deaths have no effect on the fitness of a species. The Darwin Awards are a pseudo-scientific excuse for the callous to profit from the tragedies of the unfortunate by marketing to the smug and self-satisfied.
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Summary: check this out!
Review: This book is set around the stupidity of the human race. Its contents include short stories of stupid true things that people have done. The lesson to be learned is the strong survive. Everyone else that cannot contribute good and smartness to the human race is eliminated by their own acts of stupidity. I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants a laugh. It is a humorous and enjoyable book that many are sure to love.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining, kind of weird
Review: At first I was amazed that the editor of this book had enough stories about stupid people killing themselves in stupid ways to make up a book of this size. But now I'm sure she had to cut some stories -- maybe she's saving them for the second edition. Some of these reports seem too ridiculous to be true. She's right, though -- we should thank these people for exiting the gene pool. How can we address humanity's greatest challenges -- starvation, human rights abuses, cures for disease -- when we kill ourselves trying to get into Metallica concerts for free? This book's a pretty good bathroom reader, though it isn't without its problems. The introductions to each part are inane, and hardly relate to the material that follows. In some of the stories it isn't clear what happens to the people involved. Also, I think the book would have worked better with the urban legends collected in their own section instead of sprinkled throughout. Somehow, mixed in with true stories, they're given legitimacy. Anyway, bring on volume II!
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Summary: Great book for your desk or coffee table..
Review: The book collects the many years of internet traded darwin awards into one archive for easier reading and to have when not near a pc. I picked it up and have gotten many a laugh from it throuh the various unfortunate happenings it details. The tales are all listed as wether they have been verified as true occurrences, or if they are urban myths, and there's tons of them to leaf through. It's a great book to have around at a party with friends over to leaf through and get a kick from just how stupid some people can be at times.
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Summary: Didn't Know There Were So Many Ways to Die!
Review: The Darwin Awards take a somewhat somber subject and tries to make light of it. And the book does an excellant job doing so. Some of the stories are amazing in the stupidity that these people have. Like the man who was bitten by a cobra but thought he could survive it because "he was a man". The only thing I would have liked to see would be less Urban Legends. Just knowing that these stories were not true made them not worth reading. Buy the book and check out the web site. They're both good.
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Summary: Not for everyone.
Review: You have to have a warped, sick sense of humor to enjoy this book. Fortunately, I and almost everyone I know has just such a sick sense of humor. The basic concept is marvellous: The Darwin Awards are imaginary awards, given to those who improve the human gene pool by eliminating themselves from it in spectacularly stupid ways, thus demonstrating that this was, ultimately, for the best. Generally, this means engaging in terminal stupidity, but occasional "winners" "only" injure themselves in ways that render them permanently infertile. The book also includes "(dis)honorable mentions", who do NOT eliminate themselves from the gene pool, but whose stories are good enough, and whose stupidity is spectacular enough, that the only reason they don't qualify for an award is failure to meet that requirement. Not all of the stories in the book are true; they are all labelled, at least hypothetically accurately, as to whether they are "confirmed", "unconfirmed", "personal accounts", or "Urban Legends". I felt that too many stories were included that were unconfirmed; the whole point to these stories is that they're true. Anybody can make up a story about spectacularly unbelieveable stupidity; what's the fun in that? What makes these stories interesting is the awe one feels at their truth. I can understand including the best of the unconfirmed stories, listed as such, if the author suspects that they're probably true. But the Urban Legends should be eliminated; they detract from the whole. Further, some of the stories get overly cutesy in the telling; those that merely factually report the events, without attempting to embellish the natural humor inherent in the story work best. In summation: IF you find the basic concept funny, you will probably enjoy this book, even if it isn't as well-done as I'd expected. If, on the other hand, you are offended at the concept of laughing at the demise of a fellow human, no matter how well-deserved that demise might be, (or if you're a creationist) then you certainly won't be amused by this book.
Rating:
Summary: Liz speaks out
Review: If there were a zero on your scale, I would have given The Darwin Awards a zero. One (1) is too generous. This book is a disgrace and reveals that the author is not highly evolved herself. Where's the compassion? Where's the love for others? Where is even a smidgen of human kindness in this book? Ignorance, even stupidity, are not funny. They are tragic. Misfortune is not funny. Nothing about this book was the least bit amusing. Northcutt should have waited a few years to write a book, should have given herself time to mature and evolve. She would have written a totally different book.
Rating: 
Summary: Morbid, but fun
Review: It may seem insensitive to laugh along with the stories of death and dismemberment in this volume, but read before passing judgment. The stories - mostly verified true - permit only the briefest of remorse toward the parties in question before laughter takes hold. It is truly hard to feel sorry for someone who wanted a free cola so bad that he would not let go of the can even when the machine toppled over and crushed him. It is likewise difficult to feel too bad for the man who liked cigarettes so much that he set his oxygen tent aflame when lighting up. Surely most people have received a chain email espousing the qualifications of some Darwin Awards candidate by now, and here is the definitive collection (to date). It is a hilarious look at stupidity in action, and a fascinating look at the natural chlorine in the human gene pool.
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Summary: It's amazing we've survived at all!
Review: Anyone who has an internet account or e-mail has read about the Darwin Awards and marveled at the stupidity of our own race. While I'm sure each episode was tragic for those who knew and loved the Darwin Award winners, those of us who didn't cannot help but be amused by their exploits. It is not meant to be disrespectful to the dead and maimed, but only so the survivors might learn from the winner's mistakes (while, admittedly, having a giggle). Ms. Northcutt offers a comprehensive introduction explaining the criterion for the awards and the book's inclusions of nominees and urban legends. As you read the stories, you will be amazed at the lack of common sense employed by many of these people as they met their demise (or inability to reproduce). It is the perfect "bathroom book" and would make a great gift for anyone with a wry sense of humor!
Rating:
Summary: Avoiding Fate
Review: We are all one step from looking ridiculous, all one heartbeat from death. It may be that we are at some level superstitious, believing that if we can feel superior to others we can keep the evil fates at bay. The day I fell off a skateboard, my students laughed and laughed (a skateboard, in a straight skirt and heels!), but I could have broken my neck instead of my wrist, so I just missed being a candidate for this book. And there were other occasions too embarrasssing to recount. Probably most of those who find this book hilarious have had some near misses, maybe some they didn't even notice. I would hang with John Donne "Each man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind". Those who think these tales of folly leading to a bad end are funny may be safe for the moment, but they are at risk in the next moment themselves. This book does not make me laugh. This book makes me sad, sad for the untimely deceased, sad for the self-satisfied fools who think these tales are funny.
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