The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries
Language: English
Published by HarperCollins, 2006
- Hardcover
- Used
Seller: 3Brothers Bookstore, Egg harbor township, NJ, U.S.A.3Brothers Bookstore
AbeBooks seller since July 3, 2025
Condition: Used - Very good
£ 3.29
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
Cover may have light wear, pages in very good condition and binding is sturdy; may have other light shelf wear or creases. May have notes or highlighting.
Seller Inventory # EVV.0060758759.VG
- Title
- The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries
- Author
- Johnson, Marilyn
- Publisher
- HarperCollins
- Publication year
- 2006
- Condition
- very_good
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0060758759
- ISBN 13
- 9780060758752
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.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
From the Back Cover
The New York Times comes each morning and never fails to deliver news of the important dead. Every day is new; every day is fraught with significance. I arrange my cup of tea, prop up my slippers. Obituaries are history as it is happening. Whose time am I living in? Was he a success or a failure, lucky or doomed, older than I am or younger? Did she know how to live? I shake out the pages. Tell me the secret of a good life!Where else can you 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? No wonder so many readers skip the news and the sports and go directly to the obituary page.
The Dead Beat is the story of how these stories get told. Enthralled by the fascinating lives that were marching out of this world, Marilyn Johnson tumbled into the obits page to find out what made it so lively. She sought out the best obits in the English language and chased the people who spent their lives writing about the dead. Surveying the darkest corners of Internet chat rooms, surviving a mass gathering of obituarists, and making a pilgrimage to London to savor the most caustic and literate obits of all, Marilyn Johnson leads us into the cult and culture behind the obituary page. The result is a rare combination of scrapbook and compelling read, a trip through recent history and the unusual lives we don't quite appreciate until they're gone.
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
3Brothers Bookstore
Egg harbor township, NJ, U.S.A.
AbeBooks seller since July 3, 2025
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| Item | 4 to 14 business days | 1 to 4 business days |
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We are a family run book store that has been in business for 7 years. We strive to connect you with the best quality used books for your buck!
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