Rating: 
Summary: Save Your Money
Review: I was a HUGE fan of the so-called Darwin awards when they were circulating around on the Internet. I love the notion of morons offing themselves through their own stupidity. Now that someone has decided to cash in by putting them in book form, they have unfortunately lost their charm. Problem number one is that in order to pad the material for now two full volumes, lots of stuff has been put in that doesn't belong. Many of these so-called "winners" don't deserve Darwins because either 1). they didn't die or 2). the story itself is either unverified or an actual urban legend. The author also throws in a lot of stupid criminal anecdotes, which also don't deserve Darwins and are the same exact stories that have previous appeared in things like News of the Weird.The other comment I would make is that the Darwin Awards were written up to much funnier effect when they were being posted anonymously on the Internet. Author Wendy Northcutt has actually managed to, uh, drain the life right out of them with her unfunny prose. Overall, get 'em from the 'net and don't waste your money.
Rating: 
Summary: Recent Follies as Documented Gallows Humor
Review: If you liked The Darwin Awards, you will find this book to be another winner. Like The Darwin Awards, let me note that if you do not find witless death and mutilation humorous, avoid this book. Three of the mutilation examples have a sexual context and are pretty gross.
If you find fatal and grisly mishaps funny, you will enjoy the book greatly. In fact, this has to be the best articulated book ever written about stupid ways to die and lose fertility. Anyone will feel smarter and better about themselves after reading these stories! This book is about people "removing themselves from the gene pool in sublimely idiotic fashion" in “true accidental blunders.” The incidents involve ways that people “unthinkingly engineer their own downfalls, oblivious to warning signs that the rest of us automatically heed.”
The book's premise is very well framed to put you in a humorous mood. The idea is that when people do stupid things that get them killed or keep them from having children, they thus perform a service by improving the gene pool for the remaining humans. Ms. Northcutt uses many witty essays and quotes to emphasize this point, and establishes the mood well. She has rules for these awards. To win the Darwin Award, you must (1) die or be unable to procreate after the incident, (2) show “an astounding misapplication of common sense,” (3) cause your own downfall, (4) have the ability to use sound judgment (are not too young or permanently mentally impaired) and (5) have the incident verified by someone else. If you don't meet all these tests, you can still get an honorable mention, or be described as an urban legend or a personal account. I thought these distinctions made good sense, because the story's focus and credibility weighs heavily on the interest it creates for the reader drawn to this subject. In an improvement over The Darwin Awards, Ms. Northcutt has shared feedback from her readers challenging the veracity of various urban legends, personal accounts, and honorable mentions. As a result, this book is tighter than The Darwin Awards. In another improvement, the stories much more carefully document the victim’s involvement with illegal drugs and alcohol than in The Darwin Awards. In this way, the cautionary lesson about using these substances is brought home more correctly The stories are grouped around themes: violating the seven deadly sins, women as the genetically removed party, water misadventures, problems with technology, men acting macho, misadventures with animals, explosions, and criminal capers. There is also a chapter on stories that do not qualify, and a dozen of the all-time favorites of on-line readers...
I rated the book down one star, though, because the average humor level here was not as good as in The Darwin Awards. Almost all of the examples came from 1998-2001, so there were not as many examples to choose from. I also think the verification process needs some further work. In many cases, it is in a publication or broadcast news report (which may have an incentive to "improve" the stories to make them better, and sell more issues). Finally, I think the verified examples are vastly more interesting than the fables. I would like to see a version in the future that is only made up of verified cases. I estimate that less than a quarter of these examples were verified. I came away with two new themes from reading this book. Guns need to be treated with much more respect. The deaths and dismemberment from guns occur with considerable frequency here. The other theme is that people develop so much self-confidence in their abilities that they decide that the “rules” do not apply to them. Be cautious, rather than daring, so you can live to enjoy the next book in this humorous, cautionary series!
Rating: 
Summary: Meh ... not much new material here
Review: If you read the first of this series, you really needn't bother with this one. Unlike most series out there, it makes no difference which order you read these in. Just a collection of stories of people who are too stupid to be alive, and aren't. However, one glaring flaw in this book is the constant listings of tales that are "unconfirmed by Darwin". If the story is unconfirmed, essentially meaning it is untrue, why put it in a book of "true stories". A few of these false Darwin's would be OK, but this book is nearly half full of these falsehoods. It was a little disappointing. However, it is amusing to read the tales and imagine what kind of morons would partake in such activities. Really you could read any of the books in this series; they are essentially the same, so if you have a choice between the 3 (so far) pick the cheapest.
T
Rating:
Summary: Meh ... not much new material here
Review: If you read the first of this series, you really needn't bother with this one. Unlike most series out there, it makes no difference which order you read these in. Just a collection of stories of people who are too stupid to be alive, and aren't. However, one glaring flaw in this book is the constant listings of tales that are "unconfirmed by Darwin". If the story is unconfirmed, essentially meaning it is untrue, why put it in a book of "true stories". A few of these false Darwin's would be OK, but this book is nearly half full of these falsehoods. It was a little disappointing. However, it is amusing to read the tales and imagine what kind of morons would partake in such activities. Really you could read any of the books in this series; they are essentially the same, so if you have a choice between the 3 (so far) pick the cheapest. T
Rating: 
Summary: More imbeciles, ninnies, and noodleheads.
Review: Just as entertaining as it's predecessor. Not recommended to the squeemish.
Rating:
Summary: Boy, some people really deserve what they get
Review: More stories about those who are too stupid to live. The Darwin Awards are fun and sometimes you may feel a twinge of pain, but it will pass. The sories are like an accident that you can't help but look, even though you want to look away from it. I love these stories and the web site. If you have never read the Darwin Awards, then by all means buy, read and enjoy the books.
Rating:
Summary: Ya' gotta love this stuff!
Review: Seldom have such valuable lessons been so enjoyable to learn. The stories contained within this book and its predecessor ("Darwin Awards") are not only amusing, but valuable. As a school teacher I find that a brief story selected from within these books shared with the class periodically is not only enjoyable for all concerned, but can help instruct the students to use some minimal amount of reason in their daily endeavors. I find the quote contained in Northcut's first book to be the among the wisest things ever spoken; "Only two things are infinite -- the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not so sure about the universe." Albert Einstein. Those words say it all, and Northcut has collected sundry examples to verify the accuracy of them in a delightful manner. Buy two copies -- one for yourself and one for a friend.
Rating: 
Summary: Inferior sequel - more mean than funny...
Review: Talk about cold leftovers. "Darwin Awards #2" is as weak as most sequels to successful 'humour' books. I read the first volume aloud to my friend while on vacation - at one point he fell to the floor laughing. (I think it was the story about the sad sad man who clipped dozens of bunjee cords together and forgot that those cords do stretch. He leaped from a high place, and hit the ground like a rock. He died of course.) The first "Darwin Awards" was hysterical. Virtually all of this sequel is obvious filler that was rejected for the first edition. Interestingly, the focus of the second book shifts from seriously dull people doing idiotic things with predictable outcomes. It shifts to average people dying from too common bad luck. And that's not funny - just sad. This book left me cranky & paranoid. (If you do buy this version, I'd suggest ripping out the 4 or 5 funny entries and folding them into the first "Darwin Awards". I won't be waiting for a 3rd volume.
Rating:
Summary: Get Her Out of the Gene Pool!
Review: That this author sets herself up as arbiter of who among us are too stupid to live is appalling. That she relishes the report of a hapless Bedouin shepherd shot to death by a wayward sheep stepping on his unsecured rifle funny enough to warrant a pun (and a bad one at that), "ewethanasia," is puzzling. What is amusing about careless, but innocent people wounding or killing themselves? Where are the chuckles this arrogant writer claims to offer readers? I welcome gallows humor that's crisp, novel, and <*gasp*> enlightening. There's plenty around...try the Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) and its IgNoble Prizes, f'rinstance. You want funny? You want depraved funny? You want good writing? Try The Onion. Two different genres, but then, Northcutt is in a class by herself...too bad she may be spreading her genes around. ...
Rating:
Summary: The Darwin Awards 2
Review: The Darwin Awards 2 is a great book if you like comedy. The Darwin Awards 2 is a series of stories of people doing the stupidest stuff. The stories in The Darwin Awards 2 will make laugh harder than you've ever laughed before.
Wendy Northcutt's writings are mostly comedy. Wendy Northcutt also writes The Darwin Awards and The Darwin Awards 3. Wendy Northcutt does a lot of things well in her books but one of the things she does really well is that she doesn't make each story long and boring but that she shortens them and gets down to the point. I would recommend this book to anyone.
~kevin stubbs~
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