The Work of the Dead: A Cultural History of Mortal Remains, by Thomas W. Laqueur
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The Work of the Dead: A Cultural History of Mortal Remains, by Thomas W. Laqueur
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The Greek philosopher Diogenes said that when he died his body should be tossed over the city walls for beasts to scavenge. Why should he or anyone else care what became of his corpse? In The Work of the Dead, acclaimed cultural historian Thomas Laqueur examines why humanity has universally rejected Diogenes's argument. No culture has been indifferent to mortal remains. Even in our supposedly disenchanted scientific age, the dead body still matters--for individuals, communities, and nations. A remarkably ambitious history, The Work of the Dead offers a compelling and richly detailed account of how and why the living have cared for the dead, from antiquity to the twentieth century.
The book draws on a vast range of sources--from mortuary archaeology, medical tracts, letters, songs, poems, and novels to painting and landscapes in order to recover the work that the dead do for the living: making human communities that connect the past and the future. Laqueur shows how the churchyard became the dominant resting place of the dead during the Middle Ages and why the cemetery largely supplanted it during the modern period. He traces how and why since the nineteenth century we have come to gather the names of the dead on great lists and memorials and why being buried without a name has become so disturbing. And finally, he tells how modern cremation, begun as a fantasy of stripping death of its history, ultimately failed--and how even the ashes of the victims of the Holocaust have been preserved in culture.
A fascinating chronicle of how we shape the dead and are in turn shaped by them, this is a landmark work of cultural history.
The Work of the Dead: A Cultural History of Mortal Remains, by Thomas W. Laqueur- Amazon Sales Rank: #267934 in Books
- Published on: 2015-10-13
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.40" h x 2.10" w x 6.50" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 736 pages
Review Winner of the 2016 PROSE Award in European & World History, Association of American Publishers2016 Gold Medal Winner in World History, Independent Publisher Book AwardsOne of Flavorwire's 10 Best Books by Academic Publishers in 2015One of The Guardian's Best Books of 2015, selected by Alison LightOne of Flavorwire's 15 Best Nonfiction Books of 2015"Laqueur effectively shows that remains of the dead matter long after they decompose . . . [and his] engaging writing style enlivens this somber subject."--Library Journal"The product of prodigious research and a subtle and sophisticated knowledge of history, anthropology, and philosophy, The Work of the Dead is as magnificent--and mindboggling--as it is monumental."--Glenn C. Altschuler, Huffington Post"A remarkably supple and fascinating study, providing as it were the sociological and forensic underpinning of every ghost story ever told. . . . The Work of the Dead [is] both provocative and, you should pardon the term, lively (and readers should be sure not to miss the wonderfully argumentative end notes). It'll change the way you look at being dead and buried."--Steve Donoghue, Open Letters Monthly"Laqueur's book is a monumental undertaking, teeming with so many absorbing anecdotes and so much vivid information that it can be read either compulsively or for an hour a day, just to keep in sight of the nub of our fears and the often romantic absurdity of our hopes and superstitions. It had this reader at least imagining many cross-generational dialogues on the subject."--Gregory Day, Sydney Morning Herald"This massive, mesmerizing work contains much that's worth pondering."--Publishers Weekly, (starred review)"Laqueur's mastery of this history, and his limpid prose, make this a deeply engaging text. He renders his sentences with gorgeous profundity."--Deborah Lutz, Times Higher Education"The Work of the Dead is an enormous, erudite, sprawling, garrulous, exhausting and brilliant piece of work. And it never forgets that thread of 'intuition and feeling'."--Economist"[The Work of the Dead] is, quite simply, an extraordinary book. . . . [I]n short, this is the work of a great historian doing what we all do, only better: reckoning with death as we bide time until our own."--Darrin M. McMahon, Literary Review"A major work of scholarship on an undiscovered country, the land of the dead, which, as it turns out, has had major implications for the living. Laqueur's book, which begins with Diogenes' claim that his dead body should be thrown over the gates for the dogs, aims to show that our care for the dead ('materially and imaginatively') marks 'the sign of our emergence from the order of nature into culture'."--Jonathan Sturgeon, Flavorwire (One of Flavorwire's Ten Best Books by Academic of 2015)"Laqueur's detailed stories enable us to see 'the work of the dead' in action as it were, sustaining the old and forging the new. . . . Dazzling in its scope, expertly researched and crafted, The Work of the Dead shows us what is important about our humanity and longings. It is also a page-turner and a terrific read."--Sharon R. Kaufman, Los Angeles Review of Books"After being asked what he would like to have done with his body after he died, the Greek philosopher Diogenes replied that he wanted it thrown out for animals to devour. Thousands of years later, his answer can still shock. Thomas Laqueur explains why in his sweeping history of the way humans have grappled with death--an abstract terror made concrete by the bodies that remain when the dead have passed on. Combining anthropological reflections on the cultural functions of the dead with historical investigations of the shifting ways their bodies have been treated, Laqueur uses the stubborn resistance to Diogenes' provocation to explore the world the dead left behind."--Tim Shenk, Dissent"Poetically, powerfully sweeping across human history, Laqueur explores what the rituals of caring for the departed reveal about the living. Their story is ours; their absence shapes art and architecture, communities and civilizations. In every era and every culture, Laqueur finds the dead body imbued with meaning."--Swarthmore Bulletin"Laqueur's venerable research all leads to one principal concluding thought, which is that while we can know logically that the human corpse is unrelated to the personality it once held, it is the most intimately connected material thing that is left of a life."--Juniper Quin, SevenPonds"This thought-provoking tome, erudite and finely-written, seemingly encapsulates all past uttering on the dead in our fleetingly short lives."--Julie Peakman, History Today
From the Back Cover
"This passionate and compassionate book is nothing short of a magnum opus. In it one of the most original and daring historians of our time guides the reader on an unexpected journey through churchyards, cemeteries, and crematoriums, challenging common wisdom and offering startling new insights into the meaning of our ways of caring for the dead."--Lynn Hunt, author of Writing History in the Global Era
"Thomas Laqueur's magnificent book is haunted by the ancient Cynic philosopher Diogenes, who wanted his corpse simply thrown over the walls of the city for wild dogs to eat. Why humans do not dispose of the dead in such a way, why we feel compelled as a species to treat our mortal remains with such an astonishing variety of rituals, is the subject of this deeply learned and richly detailed meditation. Eschewing simple explanations, ranging across centuries and cultures, plunging with unflagging energy into vast archives, Laqueur discloses and explores the work that the dead do for the living. The Work of the Dead is like a vast canvas in which the reader can somehow see at the same moment the tiny buttons on a frock coat and the curvature of the earth. The book is a moving triumph of scholarship and the historical imagination."--Stephen Greenblatt, author of The Swerve: How the World Became Modern
"An astonishingly erudite and beautifully written history that is both epic and intimate, The Work of the Dead exhumes subtle and seismic shifts in the vital place that the dead have among the living. Ranging from the earliest burial practices to the modern cemetery and crematorium, Thomas Laqueur reminds us that how we treat the dead is a key to understanding the cultures of the living. Who would have thought the dead could provide so much insight and illumination?"--John Brewer, Caltech
"This is a truly great book--a milestone of scholarship and a joy to read. The brilliance and richness of each chapter are thrilling, and the movement between literary examples, philosophical discussion, and a vast array of historical sources is simply incredible."--Claudio W. Lomnitz, Columbia University
About the Author Thomas W. Laqueur is the Helen Fawcett Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley. His books include Making Sex: Body and Gender from the Greeks to Freud and Solitary Sex: A Cultural History of Masturbation. He is a regular contributor to the London Review of Books.
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Most helpful customer reviews
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful. Bravo! A Masterful Examination of Our Relationship to the Dead By Kim Stacey As a licensed funeral director, funeral historian, anthropologist and amateur thanatologist, I've got to say this book is everything I expected it to be. Scholarly, yes; but the surprise comes with Laqueur's often very beautiful prose. I love the book, and can recommend it to anyone who enjoys a well-researched and well-written academic investigation of the relationship we have with the dead. As Laqueur writes, "the history of the work of the dead is the history of how they dwell in us--individually and communally. It is the history of how we imagine them to be, how they give meaning to our lives, how they structure public spaces, politics, and time."
13 of 18 people found the following review helpful. The Work of the Dead by Thomas W. Laqueur ... By Kristine Fisher The Work of the Dead by Thomas W. Laqueur is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in early October as a more academic, anthropological counterpart to Mary Roach's Stiff.The Work of the Dead covers the who, where and when of burial, final religious rites, corpse disposal, and recognition of the dead in Europe and the Meditteranean. Laqueur's narrative is studied, knowledgeable, and witty without veering toward dark humor and sardonics.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. but honestly I still enjoyed the entire thing By Blair Hodges Yes, the author is a bit verbose; yes, the manuscript could've been trimmed a bit, but honestly I still enjoyed the entire thing. I often race through books but this one made me want to take my time and contemplate death itself, one of the most difficult and pressing things to contemplate. I agree with the reviewer who noted the book's more-narrow-than-expected scope, especially given its length. Still, the territory the author covers is fascinating, and I hope it prompts other scholars to pick up the themes and examine other cultures, geographies, and time periods.
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