Where Are They Buried?: How Did They Die?: Fitting Ends and Final Resting Places of the Famous, Infamous, and Noteworthy by Tod Benoit

Product Details

Synopsis

This enlightening and browsable guide features more than 500 profiles of the lives, deaths, and final resting places of our most influential figures from sports, music, film, television, literature, and politics.

This unparalleled compilation of profiles of the deceased--from Abbott & Costello to Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, from Arthur Ashe to Andy Warhol--offers all of the pertinent details on their lives, deaths, and grave sites, providing a pop-cultural road map for anyone fascinated by celebrity, history, and travel. Listings include Mark Twain, Sonny Bono, Dr. Seuss, Salvador Dali, Mickey Mantle, Marvin Gaye, Jimi Hendrix, Ingrid Bergman, William Shakespeare, Andy Kaufman, Bob Crane, Louis Armstrong, Walt Disney, Errol Flynn, Al Capone, Ella Fitzgerald, Mae West, Gertude Stein, and hundreds more.

Fifty photos and a number of informative sidebars (on such topics as how to find the grave of anyone you choose) round out this entertaining look at the permanent addresses of our most significant late citizens. And each listing offers concise directions to both the cemetery and the grave itself, an added benefit for tombstone travelers.

Tina Dybvik - Children's Literature

Benoit's intent is to connect humanity through a desire to "live on." Here are 450 reminders that nobody escapes alive. The primary focus is U.S. and Western European entertainers, with more social and political notables included near the end. At times, the self-destructive lifestyles of famous people seem remote from ordinary life. Drug over-doses, sports car accidents, and AIDS dominate the coroner reports in the Gen-X and Baby Boomer sections, and there is a numbing frequency of suicides reported across all categories. The well-written and well-researched text gains the confidence of readers. Detailed directions to grave sites determine the content, and the notable omissions (e.g. Dred Scott and Susan B. Anthony) are the disappointing result of unavailable information or space constraints. For these, Benoit recommends an online search service. The rest is a rather disheartening read for lonely nights, but a unique gift for bathroom libraries and game show contestants. 2003, Black Dog & Leventhal/Workman Publishing,

Biography

Tod Benoit is an entrepreneur who has logged more than 10,000 miles driving around the country in search of notable graves.