100 Places to See After You Die

A Travel Guide to the Afterlife

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Pub Date 13 Jun 2023 | Archive Date 20 Jun 2023

Description

From New York Times bestselling author and legendary Jeopardy! host and champion Ken Jennings comes a hilarious travel guide to the afterlife, exploring to die for destinations from literature, mythology, and pop culture.

Ever wonder which circles of Dante’s Inferno have the nicest accommodations? Where’s the best place to grab a bite to eat in the ancient Egyptian underworld? How does one dress like a local in the heavenly palace of Hinduism’s Lord Vishnu, or avoid the flesh-eating river serpents in the Klingon afterlife? What hidden treasures can be found off the beaten path in Hades, Valhalla, or TV’s The Good Place? Find answers to all those questions and more about the world(s) to come in this eternally entertaining book from Ken Jennings.

Written in the style of iconic bestselling travel guides, Jennings wryly outlines journeys through the afterlife, as dreamed up over 5,000 years of human history by our greatest prophets, poets, mystics, artists, and TV showrunners. This comprehensive index of 100 different afterlife destinations was meticulously researched from sources ranging from the Epic of Gilgamesh to modern-day pop songs, video games, and Simpsons episodes. Get ready for whatever post-mortal destiny awaits you, whether it’s an astral plane, a Hieronymus Bosch hellscape, or the baseball diamond from Field of Dreams.

Fascinating, funny, and irreverent, this “gung-ho travel guide to Heaven, Hell, and beyond” (The New Yorker) will help you create your very own bucket list—for after you’ve kicked the bucket.
From New York Times bestselling author and legendary Jeopardy! host and champion Ken Jennings comes a hilarious travel guide to the afterlife, exploring to die for destinations from literature...

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EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781501131585
PRICE $27.99 (USD)
PAGES 320

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Average rating from 79 members


Featured Reviews

Many thanks to Scribner and Net Galley for the eARC. This book is set to publish in June of 2023.

Wow, what an enjoyable read! This text is both informative and clever, borrowing extensively from research while condensing information from some massive reservoirs of information into manageable chunks. We used to do a short unit in my class on creation myths, but I found this study on the afterlife across cultural mediums much more fascinating. It rang true once more than archetypally across generations, views on the experiences of the soul and the afterlife are not all that different. I found this a wonderful reference source that I'll be borrowing from for my classes. It's a very handy text to have on hand.

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I received an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.

This book was quite a bit of fun and I definitely recommend it to any fans of humor, satire, or history. The Jeopardy star writes an enjoyable work of satire as he creates his own travel guide through historical events of the past.

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I like Jennings. He’s by far my favorite Jeopardy GOAT which to the uninitiated is Greatest of All Time. He’s also a fun writer, and I’ve enjoyed his books over the years, so I immediately requested the ARC of his latest when it popped up on Netgalley.
The concept here is charmingly simple…the book is essentially a compendium of afterlife as it is depicted in mythology, religion, books, movies, arts, etc. There are sections on each with alphabetically arranged entries. But, of course, Jennings ad libs. The idea here is to stick to the facts but give them a humorous spin, turning this into something of travelogue, albeit to destinations perhaps best left alone, speculative or otherwise.
So do you want Jennings as your Virgil for touring the underworld? Well, sure, he’s a fun guy. So this book is on lighter side for such a heavy topic. But then it’s also lite as it lightweight in a way. Like Jennings deliberately holds back his famous snark and sarcasm it seems to appease the general public. Must be all that Jeopardy host training.
He’s a smart, funny, erudite guy with sweeping knowledge of random facts and pop culture and he utilizes it all well, but…mildly? Like holding most of his opinions to himself. Which is a shame, says this reader, because nonfiction if often best when it is presented by an opinionated author.
So basically don’t go in expecting too much meditation on the subject or comparative studies or things like that. You will learn some things, especially in the first two sections of religion and mythology. The rest are basically Jennings rehashing plots of famous books, movies, etc. Which is entertaining but only so much. And reader beware, he does give away the plot. Every single time. The ending and all.
So overall, somewhat educational, plenty entertaining, leaves something to be desired. Worth a read. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

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Such a unique concept! Hilariously engaging, instantly likable, bite-sized chapters you can easily come back to. I highly recommend this book as a gift as well!

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As some one fascinated with death practices and culture this was a fun and interesting book. Each section focuses on a different description of the afterlife from religion, mythology, books, music, etc. This is by no means all inclusive, but it shows the highlights and the humorous narrative style keeps it fun (without dropping into disrespectful). I appreciated the broad range of cultures that are highlighted (not just Western or religious examples) and there are many that I bookmarked to learn more about.

I think this is a great book for anyone interested in death culture and a great conversation starter (as a coffee table book for even for a book club).

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Pulling from Norse mythology to the iconic film "Field of Dreams" and everything in between, Ken Jennings takes the reader through 100 different possible "afterlives" go visit in his newest book, which is as informative as it is funny. It is abundantly clear the sheer magnitude of research that went into creating this book, and Jennings lays it all out for the "still living" in ways that are easily understandable and make you want to keep reading.

This was an absolute joy to read (not someone one usually says about death!) and could easily be updated and expanded as time continues its never ending march forward. I would absolutely recommend this book to others - you'll be shocked by how much you learn without realizing it! (I've had many of Ken's books on my TBR for quite a while, but this was my first to cross off the list. I'm very excited to continue through his catalog of seemingly unending knowledge.)

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I wasn't sure what to expect when I requested this book but it was so informative and I swear I heard a clue on Jeopardy and knew the answer from this book. The humorous takes on places really kept me engaged, it wasn't just your standard read.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

100 Places to See After You Die was a book unlike anything I’ve ever read, in the best possible way! Jennings manages the perfect balance between witty and informative. I loved getting to learn about afterlives I was familiar with, and about all the ones I hadn’t heard of. The blend of mythological/religious with the media afterlives kept the book entertaining the whole way through.

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100 Places to See After You Die, A Travel Guide to the Afterlife by Ken Jennings was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. Not living under a rock, I had heard of Ken Jennings, the author, but I was unaware he wrote books. This book is a clever travel guide for the ages, giving a nutshell description of many places and things we have heard about of the years, such as Valhalla. I heard about Vallhallla often but never really remembered to look up what it was, now I have it in book format, clear and concise. I recommend everyone keep a copy of this book on hand so you can look things up or be the ultimate knowledgeable person of the cocktail club.

5 Stars

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