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The Norm Chronicles: Stories And Numbers About Danger And Death (2014)

by Michael Blastland(Favorite Author)

3.69 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0465085709 (ISBN13: 9780465085705)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Basic Books

review 1: This book isn't maybe quite as satisfying as I'd like, as the numbers are never as exact as I'd like... but that's kind of the authors' point, no? The two main thrusts of the book being, one, that life is probably not as scary as you think (at least if you live in the UK or USA), and, two, that all these risk and probability numbers are, finally, pretty limited, at least in terms of their ability to predict life events. (The authors attempt to make this second point mostly through the stories of three fictional characters... these sections of the book have heart, but are pretty hit and miss in terms of entertainment value.) Still, it's a fun book, yes yes, very fun. There's gotta be a "tell your friend(s)" anecdote/statistic on every other page. Especially mind-bendin... moreg for me was the chapter on space, cuz, you know, space.
review 2: Authors Michael Blastland and David Spiegelhalter examine the chances of dying from a wide variety of causes. You might think this sounds morbid. Think again. These guys find fun ways to play with numbers. Who has not wondered how their life will end? Everyone is mortal, and Michael and David delight in the subject. They examine a wide variety of terminal situations. Since you are reading this, it's obvious that you did not die while emerging from the birth canal. That happens to be one of the many ways of dying that they examine. Since death while your mother was delivering you didn't happen, you may want to guess your lifespan by considering the biblical allotment of three scores and ten. That might not work for you though. Our lives are becoming longer on average. The book deals with murder and suicide. Chances of facing terminal situations because of breast cancer for women, or prostate cancer for men are covered. Skydiving and flying are looked at. You name the possible causes of death. They are probably covered in some way in the course of the book. There's surprisingly well-balanced and detailed statistical data from both the United States and the United Kingdom.If you are wondering why the book is called The Norm Chronicles, here is your answer. Norm is a guy named Norman. Of course since he is Norm, he has to be normal. He is talked about from his time in childhood all the way well into his adulthood. He is just your average sort of guy. You will meet other characters who are not so normal. Their names are just as intriguing as Norm's. See what I mean when I allude to this being a fun book?This is something worth your time, and you will learn things you never knew before. I got my copy through Goodreads First Reads, and found every minute with it to be highly enjoyable. less

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