Over My Dead Body: Unearthing the Hidden History of America's Cemeteries

ISBN: 1419754866

Author: Melville, Greg

Condition: Used

Journalist Greg Melvilles Over My Dead Body is an astonishing . . . fascinating . . . powerful (New York Times Book Review) tour through the history of US cemeteries that explores how, where, and why we bury our dead.You hold in your hands a treasure map, a gentle, sly, and poignant presence leading us to places in America and in our lives that have been hiding in plain sight. This tale is about cemeteries, but its really about how beautiful is life. -#1 New York Times bestselling author Doug StantonThe summer before his senior year in college, Greg Melville worked at the cemetery in his hometown, and thanks to hour upon hour of pushing a mower over the grassy acres, he came to realize what a rich story the place told of his town and its history. Thus was born Melvilles lifelong curiosity with how, where, and why we bury and commemorate our dead.Melvilles Over My Dead Body is a lively (pun intended) and wide-ranging history of cemeteries, places that have mirrored the passing eras in history but also have shaped it. Cemeteries have given birth to landscape architecture and famous parks, as well as influenced architectural styles. Theyve inspired and motivated some of our greatest poets and authors-Emerson, Whitman, Dickinson. Theyve been used as political tools to shift the countrys discourse and as important symbols of the United States ambition and reach.But they are changing and fading. Embalming and burial is incredibly toxic, and while cremations have just recently surpassed burials in popularity, theyre not great for the environment either. Over My Dead Body explores everything about cemeteries-history, sustainability, land use, and more-and what it really means to memorialize.Includes Black-and-White PhotographsLocales visited in Over My Dead BodyShawsheen Cemetery - Bedford, Massachusetts; the 1607 burial ground - Historic Jamestowne, Virginia; Burial Hill - Plymouth, Massachusetts; Colonial Jewish Burial Ground - Newport, Rhode Island; Monticellos African American graveyard - Charlottesville, Virginia; Mount Auburn Cemetery - Cambridge, Massachusetts; Green-Wood Cemetery - Brooklyn, New York; Laurel Grove Cemetery - Savannah, Georgia; Sleepy Hollow Cemetery - Concord, Massachusetts; Central Park - New York, New York; Gettysburg National Cemetery - Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; Arlington National Cemetery - Arlington, Virginia; Woodlawn Cemetery - Bronx, New York; Boothill Graveyard - Tombstone, Arizona; Forest Lawn - Glenwood, California; the Chapel of the Chimes - Oakland, California; Hollywood Forever Cemetery - Los Angeles, California; West Laurel Hills Natures Sanctuary - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania