Sir Terry Pratchett: Shaking Hands with Death

Episode image for Sir Terry Pratchett: Shaking Hands with Death

Duration: 50 minutes

One of the world's most popular authors gives the 34th Richard Dimbleby Lecture from the Royal College of Physicians in London.

Sir Terry Pratchett announced in 2007 that he had been diagnosed with a rare form of early-onset Alzheimer's disease. In his keynote lecture, Shaking Hands with Death, he explores how modern society, confronted with an increasingly older population, many of whom will suffer from incurable illnesses, needs to redefine how it deals with death.

The acclaimed creator of the bestselling Discworld series, he is the first novelist to give the Richard Dimbleby Lecture. His books have sold more than 65 million copies and have been translated into 37 languages.

  • BBC Headroom

    BBC Headroom

    Watch Terry Pratchett talk to Sir Michael Rawlins of NICE about the issues surrounding the treatment of Alzheimer's disease in the UK, and download the Living with Alzheimer's factsheet on the BBC Headroom site

    BBC Headroom: Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia

Credits

Presenter
David Dimbleby
Presenter
Terry Pratchett
Producer
Victoria Simpson
Executive Producer
Phil Dolling

Broadcasts

Buzz about this programme

Links are found automatically and then selected for relevancy.

Find out more or report a problem.

BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.