Death and Dying: A Reader

Once again, Shannon has packed a comprehensive course on bioethics into a concise and accessible reader. The ten essays in this anthology on the contemporary state of death and dying cover the religious, legal, moral, and historical bases with the speed and sure-footedness of a seasoned pro, and bring the tough questions about terminal care and assisted suicide into sharp focus. -- Patrick T. McCormick, Gonzaga University, Spokane Shannon's book provides us with an excellent comprehensive view of the issues of death and dying starting with the biological perspectives of death to palliative care and physician-assisted suicide. The various articles give bioethicists and students of bioethics both a solid foundation for further critical study in this important ethical area and practical guidance on how to approach these issues in a sensitive and judicious manner. -- Peter A. Clark, S.J., Ph.D., John McShain Chair in Ethics, Saint Joseph's University and recent author of To Treat or Not To Treat (Fordham University Press, This book should be of interest to all of us who face death for ourselves and our loved ones, but especially to current or future medical, counseling, and pastoral professionals. * Bridges, Volume 12 (1/2) * Overall, this reader will be useful to those interested in certain issues surrounding end-of-life care as it pulls together some excellent recent articles that are not available in any other edited volumes on this topic. * American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly * In this compact collection of well-written essays are all the issues-biological, medical, interpersonal, historical, legal, ethical, and religious-pertinent to thoughtful reflection on death and dying. Not only is this fine volume comprehensive, it is also interdisciplinary in scope. Readers are drawn into enlightening conversation with medical ethicists, clinicians, and health care administrators. -- Patricia Beattie Jung, associate professor of theology, Loyola University Chicago