The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries (P.S.) - Softcover

Johnson, Marilyn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060758767 ISBN 13: 9780060758769

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2007

Synopsis

Marilyn Johnson was enthralled by the remarkable lives that were marching out of this world--so she sought out the best obits in the English language and the people who spent their lives writing about the dead. She surveyed the darkest corners of Internet chat rooms, and made a pilgrimage to London to savor the most caustic and literate obits of all. Now she leads us on a compelling journey into the cult and culture behind the obituary page and the unusual lives we don't quite appreciate until they're gone.

About this title

Review:

"[Marilyn Johnson]'s written a warm, funny, appreciative book that, ironically enough, should live forever. But get it now."--Roy Blount, Jr., author of Feet On The Street: Rambles Around New Orleans

"A beautifully written, funny, and fascinating tour through the unexpectedly lively world of obituaries."--Lisa Grunwald, author of Women's Letters: America from the Revolutionary War to the Present

"A charming, lyrical book about the men and women who write obituaries... sly, droll, and completely winning."--David Halberstam

"A joyful book about obituaries? Absolutely! Marilyn Johnson pulls it off with death-defying grace, insight, charm, and wit."--Lee Eisenberg, author of The Number: A Completely Different Way to Think About the Rest of Your Life

From the Author:

I attended my first Great Obituary Writers' Conference in
2004, and had a marvellous time. Who knew obit writers would be such good
company? Half an hour before the end of the conference, somebody ran in
shouting that Ronald Reagan had died. There was more adrenaline coursing
through that place than you'd find in a casualty department. I spent the
next two years chasing obit writers, soaking up their energy and twisted
sense of humour, and collecting their greatest hits: professional whistler,
kitty litter inventor, confidante of the Three Stooges, "revolutionary
whore." THE DEAD BEAT is my valentine to obit writers.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0060758767
• ISBN 13: 9780060758769
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272