"Neither dreary nor depressing," reads the dust jacket of this dreary, depressing little book. It's true that at some point in any reasonably sensitive person's life, a knowledge of funeral customs and etiquette will probably be comforting. It is also possible that, given the state of the current medical establishment, a rudimentary knowledge of wills living or otherwise might become a grim necessity. It's a certainty that most people will eventually confront the nuts-and-bolts facts of funeral planning. R.I.P. could be a great comfort in all these circumstances. Furthermore, while people are turning toward the second part of this creepy book in search of useful information, they can also amuse themselves with the book's first 200 pages: There, they'll find all sorts of Fun Death Facts ranging from pretentious (how did the ancient Etruscans view death?) to disgusting (what exactly happens to the human body during the process of putrefaction?) to gothic (who are the most famous serial killers and cannibals ever?) to offensively trivial (here for your amusement are the witty last words and epitaphs of famous people!). It's made all the more darkly humorous by never once breaking its dry, reference-work tone, even while knee-deep in an entertaining section on cult suicides. Complete book of death, indeed. It may be a halfway informative book, but it's more of a ghoulish publishing mistake.