The dead beat
lost souls, lucky stiffs, and the perverse pleasures of obituaries
by Marilyn Johnson
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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? 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. This book 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.--From publisher description.
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Subjects
History and criticism, Nonfiction, Obituaries, SociologyShowing 5 featured editions. View all 4 editions?
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1
The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries (P.S.)
January 30, 2007, Harper Perennial
in English
0060758767 9780060758769
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2
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3
The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries (P.S.)
January 30, 2007, Harper Perennial
Paperback
in English
0060758767 9780060758769
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4
The dead beat: lost souls, lucky stiffs, and the perverse pleasures of obituaries
2006, HarperCollins
in English
- 1st ed.
0060758759 9780060758752
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aaaa
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WorldCat
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5
The dead beat: lost souls, lucky stiffs, and the perverse pleasures of obituaries
2006, HarperCollins
in English
- 1st ed.
0060758759 9780060758752
|
eeee
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Book Details
Table of Contents
Edition Notes
Includes bibliographical references (p. [231]-239).
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Work Description
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.
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| July 22, 2019 | Edited by MARC Bot | remove fake subjects |
| March 29, 2011 | Edited by WorkBot | merge works |
| December 5, 2010 | Edited by Open Library Bot | Added subjects from MARC records. |
| June 18, 2010 | Edited by ImportBot | add details from OverDrive |
| December 10, 2009 | Created by WorkBot | add works page |