I was intrigued when I read the premise of this book - it wasn’t something I’d thought about before, or certainly not in such terms, and it was a fascinating read.

Jenny Kleeman writes engagingly - I was worried the book might be dry and difficult, but it wasn’t at all.

Which is not to say it’s an easy read. It made me cry multiple times and left me feeling pretty downhearted about human nature and late-stage capitalism.

Having said that, it’s a book I think everyone should read. It’s important to think about these issues, that’s the only way anything will ever change.

The Price of Life: In Search of What We're Worth and Who Decides by Jenny Kleeman is a compelling and informative look at the facts and figures surrounding life and ultimately death.. Who calculates the price on what is usually considered priceless? An uncomfortable but important investigation about whether lives can ever accurately be accounted for or compensated for in a financial way.
From Hitmen to surrogacy by way of fighter jets I think there will be something for everyone in this book. Written in investigative form this book looks deals with difficult subjects while remaining accessible and personal.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this eye-opening book in exchange for an honest review.

Jenny Kleeman covers important bases in this book and explains, for example, how the Government puts a price on your life. The first chapter started with a topic most would be interested to read - 'Taking a Life' - about hitmen. . Chapter two followed with the world's most expensive weapons and, whilst this might sound boring, it was very intriguing. Fighter Jets - F35 - what they are built for and the costs really opened my eyes. Governmental spending on F35s is mind blowing and, like Jenny, I couldn't see how the cost - money and lives lost - could ever be justified. I really enjoyed reading through the chapters, how the Government sets compensation costs for injury - there is a very detailed list available, on people who faked their own deaths but my favourite was Ch. 7 - Silicon Valley Philanthropy. 'Effective altruism' was really something else - how giving must make sense using cold hard logic. I won't say any more but I appreciated Jenny's straight thinking/talking, asking questions many of us would have. I'd recommend this for anyone to read because I know many of us often wonder how the Govt. agrees on spend.

Thanks to Netgalley and PanMacmillan for this ARC.

Life is often described as 'priceless' but as this book so thoroughly investigates many lives do in fact have a price, whether it's the amount paid in 'compensation' for a life lost or ruined following a terrorist attack, the public's access to expensive drugs (licences are granted on some but not others based on calculations), down to how much someone might pay to hire a hitman.

The author, Jenny Kleeman, interviews several people who not only calculate what a life may be worth, but also some of those who have been affected by those calculations. There are wealthy philanthropists who consider how many lives can be saved but who do so through the lens of cold, hard data - and emotions don't feature in those calculations. Does this make for fairer decisions but at the risk of putting aside moral considerations? What are we to make of wealthy people who may donate millions to a charity overseas but who ignore the rough sleepers on their own doorsteps?

A really thought-provoking book - I would definitely recommend.

I thought the premise of "The Price of Life" sounded really interesting, but, unfortunately, it was rather disappointing.
The author was really judgmental and probably the least objective non-fiction author I've have read a book by.
The subject matters of the different chapters were generally interesting and I would have liked to learn more about them, but the author pushed her opinion so hard that it kind of took away from the content for me.

This is such an interesting topic to explore and not one that I have thought about much before reading this btu it definitely puts things into context and made me ask questions.