Each chapter in the book describes a killing. When death estimates are required, Wells offers an educated guess and explains how his numbers aren't just being pulled out of nowhere.
MORE: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/07/25/how-many-people-did-god-slaughter-in-the-bible-steve-wells-has-written-a-book-documenting-every-kill/