Celebrating birthdays are always much more fun than thinking about becoming one with Force. But death can be quite interesting when broken down into unexpected statistics, false perceptions, bizarre myths and questions worth asking about diseases, accidents, occupational hazards, poisons, infections, murder, animal attacks, insect bites and war. Cause of Death: A Perfect Little Guide to What Kills Us by Lucy Autrey Wilson, Jack Mingo and Erin Barrett, a new book from George Lucas Books, explores all the things that make us become Jedi ghosts before our time.

Death becomes you, and it's just another fact of life explored in Cause of Death, a revealing abundance of startling data, false perceptions, bizarre fallacies, and some totally unexpected statistics about how, why, when, and where we all bite the dust, check out, buy the farm, kick the bucket, and all those other euphemisms for perishing after falling out of bed (roughly 1,800 fitful sleepers a year). It also answers questions most people never even consider (but should):

• Do crocodiles kill more people than alligators?
• Are we more prone to commit suicide or murder?
• How many still die from leprosy?
• Does salmonella have anything to do with salmon?
• Can the condition of your toenails predict your mortality?
• What's the connection between kitty litter and brain damage?