The Dead Beat : Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries
Author(s): Marilyn Johnson
A light-hearted look at the history and practice of “the ultimate human-interest story,” the obituary.
“What a wonderful surprise—a charming, lyrical book about the men and women who write obituaries. The Dead Beat is sly, droll, and completely winning.”— David Halberstam
Where can readers celebrate the life of the pharmacist who moonlighted as a spy, the genius behind Sea Monkeys, the school lunch lady who spent her evenings as a ballroom hostess? The obituary page, of course. Enthralled by these fascinating former lives, Marilyn Johnson tumbled into the little known world of the obituary page to find out what made it so compelling. She sought out the best obits in the English language, and chased the people who spent their lives writing about the dead. Surveying Internet chat rooms, surviving a mass gathering of obituarists, and making the pilgrimage to London to savor the most caustic and literate obits of all, she leads us into the cult and culture behind this fascinating segment of our daily news.
Review(s):
“What a wonderful surprise--a charming, lyrical book about the men and women who write obituaries. The Dead Beat is sly, droll, and completely winning.”
“If Marilyn Johnson had been meaner, I could have said she puts the bitch in obituary. Instead, she’s written a warm, funny, appreciative book that, ironically enough, should live forever. But get it now.”
“A joyful book about obituaries? Absolutely! Marilyn Johnson pulls it off with death-defying grace, insight, charm, and wit. In the end, what a celebration of life!”
“[Marilyn Johnson]’s written a warm, funny, appreciative book that, ironically enough, should live forever. But get it now.”
“A beautifully written, funny, and fascinating tour through the unexpectedly lively world of obituaries.”
"This delightful quirk of a book is … an uplifting, joyous, life-affirming read for people who ordinarily steer clear of uplifting, joyous, life-affirming reads….A musing on history and the everyday lives that comprise it [and] a primer on good writing….Writers interested in honing the craft should inhale this book. Who else might profit or delight from reading about obituaries? Just about anyone who’s not yet in one."
[A] fascinating book about the art, history and subculture of obituary writing…[Johnson’s] delight in the subject is unabashed…Johnson’s analysis of the form and its top practitioners is absorbing, [and] her accounts of the culture of obituary lovers is downright amazing."
Persuades us that the obituary column is not only the place to find out who dies, but also a source of information – and wisdom – about the world of the living.
Fetching…Johnson writes about obituaries with the zeal – and insight – of an avid obit fan … [it] makes for lively reading.
A smart, tart, and often hilarious tiptoe through the tombstones.
Borders Original Voices
ISBN: 9780060758769