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“David Shields has accomplished something here so pure and wide in its implications that I almost think of it as a secular, unsentimental Kahlil Gibran: a textbook for the acceptance of our fate on earth.” —Jonathan Lethem

Mesmerized—at times unnerved—by his ninety-seven-year-old father’s nearly superhuman vitality and optimism, David Shields undertakes an investigation of the human physical condition. The result is this exhilarating book: both a personal meditation on mortality and an exploration of flesh-and-blood existence from crib to oblivion—an exploration that paradoxically prompts a renewed and profound appreciation of life.

Shields begins with the facts of birth and childhood, expertly weaving in anecdotal information about himself and his father. As the book proceeds through adolescence, middle age, old age, he juxtaposes biological details with bits of philosophical speculation, cultural history and criticism, and quotations from a wide range of writers and thinkers—from Lucretius to Woody Allen—yielding a magical whole: the universal story of our bodily being, a tender and often hilarious portrait of one family.

A book of extraordinary depth and resonance, The Thing About Life Is That One Day You’ll Be Dead will move readers to contemplate the brevity and radiance of their own sojourn on earth and challenge them to rearrange their thinking in unexpected and crucial ways.

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Death Takes a Road Trip

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And what a trip! I was mesmerized by Shields' adroit juxtapositions of facts, quotations, personal anecdotes and sheer musings. In perfect counterpoint, his logical, reasoning reporter voice succumbs to his non-linear, subjective yarn-spinner meanderings, and so it goes -- the thrust and parry of right-brain-then-left-brain advances, leaps, detours, and backtracks. I have to agree with at least half of what he says was written about him on the wall of a ladies' restroom, "David Shields is a great writer and a babe to boot." (The former is definitely accurate and if he inherited even a little of his father's self-described magnetism, I'm sure the latter is equally true!) Thanks for this wonderful, unforgettable book.

An Eerily Beautiful Life

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When I told my wife the title of the book I was reading she responded "Why do you always read depressing books?" The startling thing about this book is that it's not depressing at all, although it joins my short list of books that look life and death squarely in the face. (See my review of Anne Roiphe's "Epilogue" for another). Shields combines a plethora of facts about our mortality with an ongoing account of his relationship with his 97 year old father. The book is extremely personal and hugely informative at the same time. It is chock full of statistics or all sorts (did you know that 72% of Americans believe in angels?) and full as well as wonderfully touching anecdotes about his father and family. His father, at 97, still rages against the dying of the light, but in three sentences, Shields explains his differing view and also the reason his book is so engaging and even uplifting: "Aging followed by death is the price we pay for the immortality of our genes. You [his father] find this information soul-killing. I find it thrilling, liberating. Life, in my view, is simple, tragic, and eerily beautiful."

it is what it is.	Customer Rating:
Funny, factual, cerebral, yet often moving without tear-jerking effects. Beautiful tributes to his father and the lessons learned through their lives together and in parallel.

A Very Disappointing and Overrated Book

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I was very excited to read this book after I read a review about it in Esquire. I can unquestionably say the best part of the book is the title. After that, the book is a ridicolous post-modern memoir / "what is life about" tome that has no coherent structure, is extremely boring, and is clearly written by someone who felt the need to prove he was some sort of "insightful" writer. I rarely stop reading books and I gave this book three (3) separate tries but I could not get past page 80. It is just a boring read and the author tries to use this absurd Joycean time pattern structure of moving back and forth through different parts of his and his father's life that prevents the book from having sort of flow. I recognize Mr. Shields put a lot of work into this and I hesitate being so critical, but this book was extremely disappointing and I was actually upset I wasted $20 on it.

Closer than ever to death...right now...and now...and now...	Customer Rating:
It kind of puts you in that river that sweeps you toward the end. It gets you thinking of all the things that can go wrong and lead to the stopping of your heart. That said, there are plenty of interesting facts on every page. All this with a twist of sad humor.