Books like The Darwin Awards

A darkly comedic celebration of spectacular human foolishness and its ultimate, fatal consequences. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with The Darwin Awards.

morbid
absurd
cynical

01
Why smart people do dumb things
Mortimer R. Feinberg · 1995
An accessible, psychological exploration of the cognitive blind spots that trip up even the sharpest minds.
Feels:
- thought-provoking
- grounding
- inquisitive
02
Why people believe weird things
Michael Shermer
A clarifying, conversational plunge into the quirks of human cognition that explains why our brains so easily fall for the irrational.
Shares:
- wry
03
The Dilbert future
Scott Adams · 1997
A hilariously cynical crystal ball that promises tomorrow's workplace will be just as incompetent and absurd as today's.
Shares:
- cynical
- satirical
- deadpan
04
Darwin's dangerous idea
Daniel C. Dennett · 1995
An intellectually dizzying journey that uses a single biological concept to dismantle and rebuild your understanding of meaning itself.
Feels:
- intellectually stimulating
- expansive
- awe-inspiring
05
You are now less dumb
David McRaney
A witty, humbling tour through the funhouse mirror of your own mind that proves you aren't nearly as rational as you think.
Shares:
- wry
06
You are not so smart
David McRaney
A playful, humbling tour through the cognitive biases that secretly run your life, proving that you are delightfully, predictably irrational.
Shares:
- wry
07
Bad Science
Ben Goldacre · 2008
A hilarious, exasperated, and fiercely intelligent takedown of the pseudoscience that surrounds us every day.
Shares:
- cynical
- satirical
- wry
08
The Book of Bunny Suicides
Andy Riley
A darkly hilarious, purely visual exploration of absurdly elaborate cartoon rabbit demises.
Shares:
- morbid
- absurd
- darkly comedic
- deadpan
09
Stiff
Mary Roach
A delightfully morbid, laugh-out-loud funny exploration of the bizarre and noble things our bodies do after we die.
Shares:
- absurd
- wry
- deadpan
10
Sway
Ori Brafman
A fascinating, anecdote-rich exploration of the invisible psychological currents that hijack our rational decision-making.
Feels:
- curious
- eye-opening
- intellectually stimulating
11
Dawn
Octavia E. Butler · 1987
A deeply unsettling and brilliant exploration of survival, asking what pieces of our humanity we are willing to trade for a future.
Feels:
- claustrophobic
- eerie
- tense
12
Galapagos
Kurt Vonnegut
A darkly hilarious, million-year meditation on why having a big brain was humanity's worst evolutionary mistake.
Shares:
- cynical
- satirical
- wry
- deadpan

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