Abstract: Statistics are provided to answer questions concerning current and past vital and health statistics for the United States. Tables present data on population; births; life expectancy; fetal, infant, and maternal mortality; marriage and divorce; health characteristics; physical measurements; heath resources; and mortality.

From the CWA Gold Dagger Award–winning author of Blacklands: A “gripping, unsettling” thriller about a young British girl coming face-to-face with evil (Bella). On the beaches and cliffs of North Devon, England, vulnerable women have become the victims of a series of shocking crimes. Forced to strip naked and then call their families to say goodbye, they are the losers in a madman’s cruel and deadly game . . . At the age of ten, Ruby Trick knows little of the horrors of the world. Her fears are much closer to home: school bullies, the dark forest that surrounds her crumbling house, and the threat of her parents’ divorce. When her father joins the hunt for the killer terrorizing their seaside town, Ruby tries to help in the hopes of keeping him close. But she soon learns that real evil is much scarier than the things that go bump in the night. “Bauer at her best . . . The true heir to the great Ruth Rendell.” —The Mail on Sunday “The novel lingers in the mind like an unwelcome guest, albeit one with a dark sense of humor . . . Powerful, compelling reading.” —The Spectator “Belinda Bauer’s thrillers are always compelling, always original, always brilliant. I will rush to read anything she writes.” —Mark Billingham “Blends a murder mystery with a blackly comic look at the gradual erosion of ‘normal’ family life. You won’t want to put it down.” —Bella

A medical student with Asperger’s is drawn into a deadly mystery in this unique crime thriller from the CWA Gold Dagger Award–winning author. Winner of the 2014 Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, Rubbernecker is a gripping thriller about a medical student who begins to suspect that something strange is going on in the cadaver lab. “The dead can’t speak to us,” Professor Madoc had said. But that was a lie. The body Patrick Fort is examining in anatomy class is trying to tell him all kinds of things. But no one hears what he does, and no one understand when he tries to tell them. Life is already strange enough for Patrick—being a medical student with Asperger’s Syndrome doesn’t come without its challenges. And that’s before he is faced with solving a possible murder, especially when no one believes a crime has even taken place. Now he must stay out of danger long enough to unravel the mystery. But as Patrick learns one truth from a dead man, he discovers there have been many other lies closer to home. “A murder mystery with more twists and turns than a rollercoaster.” —Bustle

The statistics in this report have been assembled by the National Center for Health Statistics to answer questions frequently asked about vital and health statistics for the United States.

Our love of life makes the inevitability of death very difficult to accept. Death is a comprehensive examination of that inevitable and universal human experience. To better our understanding of death--and so perhaps fear it less--the book explains the biological processes and the different causes of death, and examines the human perceptions of death throughout history and across cultures. Death is abundantly illustrated with masterpieces of art, paintings and sculptures and their representations of death, as well as abundant diagrams that explain the science of death. It methodically explores the biological limits of life, the rituals of death and describes the events surrounding the loss of life, using the most current research and medical analyses. Chapters cover diverse topics associated with death. They include: Consciousness and the soul How the body dies Terminal illness and dying slowly Methods of death Poisons, deadly animals and plants Flu pandemics, the new viruses Unsanitary conditions and deadly diseases Murder and execution Euthanasia and ethics Creatures from beyond the grave Violent and dramatic deaths Cheating death. Death is sprinkled generously with humor and the wisdom of the great thinkers. Reflecting on our philosophical, scientific and spiritual understanding of death, it speaks to our visceral fears and allows us to better appreciate life.