End-of Life Decision Making: A Cross-National Study Edited by Robert H. Blank and Janna C. Merrick This examination of end-of-life decision making offers a broader perspective than that found in the extensive existing literature on this topic by offering a cross-national study comparison. Experts form twelve countries analyze death-related issues and policies in their respective nations, discussing such topics as health care costs, advance directives or wills, pain management, and cultural, social, and religious factors. The countries selected for study - Brazil, China, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, Kenya, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United States - represent a mix of East and West, developed and developing nations, seldom considered together in analyses of these issues. This is the first systematic attempt to analyze end-of-life issues in many of these countries; the chapters on China, Kenya (of special significance because of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa), and Turkey break new ground. Each author reports on various factors in end-of-life decisions. The findings show that there are great differences among countries even in the way these issues are framed. Scholars, policy makers, and medical practitioners can all benefit from the extensive information on how different nations are dealing with death-related issues. Robert H. Blank is Chair of Public Policy at Burnel University, UK. Janna C. Merrick is Professor in the Department of Government and International Affairs at the University of South Florida. They have collaborated on several previous books, including The Encyclopedia of U.S. Biomedical Theory.