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History's Strangest Deaths

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History's Strangest Deaths

By: Riley Knight
Narrated by: Riley Knight
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About this listen

True stories of extraordinary deaths throughout history to the modern day from the host of the popular Half-Arsed History podcast.

History's Strangest Deaths, the debut book from Riley Knight, host of the popular podcast Half-Arsed History, highlights the many and varied ways that people have met their end over the years, from the foolish to the absurd.

From a classical Greek playwright killed by a tortoise dropping out of the sky to an ancient Chinese duke falling into a toilet; from a Viking raider bitten by a severed head to a lawyer shooting himself to prove a legal point; from two French kings killed by door frames to two British parliamentarians who were killed by turnips—there are countless amusing, farcical, absurd, and ultimately very strange deaths from across history. History's Strangest Deaths offers fifty of the best of them, spanning thousands of years of history to recent times.

Many people are supremely unimaginative in death, embracing the tired old cliché of dying peacefully in their sleep surrounded by loved ones. History's Strangest Deaths has tracked down those select few who have instead made their mark in the history books by exiting this world in thrillingly unconventional ways.

©2025 Riley Knight (P)2025 W. F. Howes ltd. and Allen & Unwin Civilisation World Royalty
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This book had me laughing out loud more times than I could count, while still sneaking in plenty of fascinating history. Riley Knight has that easy Aussie charm that makes you feel like you’re at the pub with a mate, beer in hand, listening to the wildest and quirkiest tales of how people managed to meet their end. It’s smart, hilarious, and full of stories you’ll want to retell straight away. If you like your history with a side of comedy, this one’s a ripper.

History, laughs, and a few questionable ways to die

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