Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

Death is a subject that fascinates me and always has, for some reason. So this book was a must read for me. And I wasn't disappointed.

Death from causes have changed over the centuries and this book looks at the improvements we have made and will probably make in the future to increase how long we live.

Absolutely loved this title. Highly readable, well referenced, engaging. Will read more from this author.

An insightful read. An entertaining, eye-opening work of popular history that illuminates how death has changed across time

Dementia, heart failure and cancer are now the leading causes of death in industrialised nations, where life expectancy is mostly above 80. A century ago, life expectancy was about 50 and people died mainly from infectious diseases. In the Middle Ages, death was mostly caused by famine, plague, childbirth and war. In the Palaeolithic period, where our species spent 95% of its time, we frequently died from violence and accidents.

Causes of death have changed irrevocably across time. In the course of a few centuries we have gone from a world where disease or violence were likely to strike anyone at any age, and where famine could be just one bad harvest away, to one where excess food is more of a problem than a lack of it. Why is this? Why don’t we die from plague, scurvy or smallpox any more? And why are heart attacks, Alzheimer’s and cancer so prevalent today?

It's not often you come across a book about death that is so interesting, educational, informative and scientific but this is certainly one. Maybe its actual audience might be quite limited but deserves a wider reading.

'This Mortal Coil' by Andrew Doig takes a very detailed look at how people have been dying throughout history. Going from the biggest killers to the smaller ones everything is examined with a modern scientific eye and a historians overview.

What I love about this book is the science Doig breaks down behind every cause of death. Instead of saying "Huntingtons Disease is caused by a genetic fault" and leaving it at that, Doig explains where our genes come from and what they do. It is rare to find a book that doesn't talk down to you about the science behind disease, but instead helps you understand it. I need to look up the background of the author because there is so much covered and discovered that I can't quite fathom where he started.

I have so many highlights and notes from things I found interesting. If you have ever wondered what, exactly, scurvy looks like and was caused by or the exact geographical spread of the black death over time then you will find answers in this book. I would heartily recommend it to the morbidly curious friend in your life and to those interested in human history.

More than anything, the whole reading experience left me incredibly optimistic about my life. I'm so lucky to be alive in this century!

This is a very interesting book but I don’t think the title quite fits. I was expecting a book about the history of death in a sociological sense e.g. how societies and cultures deal with and have dealt with the weighty topic of death. This book however is much more a history of disease and the things that have caused people to die. Andrew Doig is a Professor of Biochemistry so it makes sense that he would approach things from this angle but there were times it felt very much more like a Science book rather than a History book. Again, this is fine but perhaps not what I thought I was signing up for.

There’s lots of interesting stuff in here about the diseases that have impacted mankind through the centuries. I felt there was perhaps a bit of a Western bias towards some of the case studies and some of the information didn’t always fit in terms of it being a ‘history of…’ e.g. the section on genetic diseases such as Huntington’s felt very much in the present. The other consequence of it leaning more towards science than history was that some of the claims felt a bit iffy as someone with an academic history background personally. The chapter on obesity felt a tad preachy too. I prefer my history to be presented a little more dispassionately perhaps or maybe I’m just an insecure fat person.

Overall, quite interesting as I said but wasn’t quite what I wanted it to be.

The most fascinating book I’ve read in a long time. As much about how we live as how we die. Accessible and hugely interesting.