"Although much has been written about the link between writing and suicide, no single explanation covers all the cases. Metaphysical beliefs, political ideals, aesthetic theory, and sheer narcissism have been some of the triggers for the plunge into annihilation." "For the first time, Gary Lachman investigates the many links between self-death and the written word, launching a taxonomy of suicide that brings together an unusual gallery of literary greats including Goethe, Hermann Hesse, Dostoyevsky, Andre Breton, Thomas Chatterton, Walter Benjamin, Arthur Koestler, Witkacy, Mayakovsky and a host of other fatal characters."--BOOK JACKET.