Brennan and Stainton (both philosophy, U. of Western Ontario) have assembled core readings into an anthology to walk undergraduate students through the philosophical literature on death. They cover in turn epistemological and metaphysical questions, whether death is a bad thing for the person who undergoes it, and ethical questions such as whether killing of various sorts is permissible and if so under what conditions. Three of the 14 readings are from classical times, and the rest have been written since the middle of the 20th century. There is no index. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)