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Final Leap, The: Suicide On The Golden Gate Bridge (2012)

by John Bateson(Favorite Author)

3.78 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1280108010 (ISBN13: 9781280108013)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

University of California Press

review 1: This book changed that way I looked at two things: the Golden Gate Bridge and suicide. Not only does Bateson thoroughly expose the bridge Authority's criminal inaction and indifference, he also explores how we as a society deal with (or rather try to ignore) suicides. An easily accessible read that everyone, whether they live near the bridge or not, whether suicide has impacted them or not, should read. I would have given it 5 stars were it not for the occasional auto-correct mistake.
review 2: Call it morbid but I am fascinated by Golden Gate bridge suicides. As a local icon there is hardly a more recognizable spot in my area. It is undeniably a beautiful structure, a tourist magnet, a source of pride for locals. But many of the things that make it attractive ... moreto locals and travelers also make it attractive to people with suicidal thoughts: it is accessible, historic and a mythic. For someone contemplating suicide the bridge is easy to get to, presents no physical barriers and leaves little mess for loved ones to find. Given these things it is somewhat unsurprising that upwards of 30 people jump to their death every year. This book by the director of a local crisis intervention and suicide prevention center aims to tell the full story about Golden Gate Bridge suicides and advocate for a barrier. And he does a really good job of both. The book covers many aspects from history to design, mental health to policy in addition to telling the riveting personal stories of people who have jumped. The small pieces are amazing (like how more than one small child has been thrown over the railing by their parent who then jumped) and the insights shared by survivors, family members, and mental health professionals are both gut wrenching and illuminating. And while these stories of despair are really hard to read, the most difficult parts of the book in some ways were the parts that dealt with objections to a suicide barrier. I simply can not understand the total lack of political will to build a barrier that would save lives. Admittedly Bateson goes on maybe a bit too long about this, and his arguments about it are repeated so often that I started to get restless. But there is no denying that his arguments and the book itself are compelling. less

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