Over My Dead Body

An astonishing . . . fascinating . . . powerful (New York Times Book Review) tour through the history of US cemeteries that explores how, where, and why we bury our deadThe summer before his senior year in college, Greg Melville worked at the cemetery in his hometown, and thanks to hour upon hour of pushing a mower over the grassy acres, he came to realize what a rich story the place told of his town and its history. Thus was born Melvilles lifelong curiosity with how, where, and why we bury and commemorate our dead. Melvilles Over My Dead Body is a lively (pun intended) and wide-ranging history of cemeteries, places that have mirrored the passing eras in history but also have shaped it. Cemeteries have given birth to landscape architecture and famous parks, as well as influenced architectural styles. Theyve inspired and motivated some of our greatest poets and authorsEmerson, Whitman, Dickinson. Theyve been used as political tools to shift the countrys discourse and as important symbols of the United States ambition and reach. But they are changing and fading. Embalming and burial is incredibly toxic, and while cremations have just recently surpassed burials in popularity, theyre not great for the environment either. Over My Dead Body explores everythinghistory, sustainability, land use, and moreand what it really means to memorialize. Locales visited in Over My Dead Body Shawsheen Cemetery Bedford, Massachusetts The 1607 Burial Ground Historic Jamestowne, Virginia Burial Hill Plymouth, Massachusetts Colonial Jewish Burial Ground Newport, Rhode Island Monticellos African American Graveyard Charlottesville, Virginia Mount Auburn Cemetery Cambridge, Massachusetts Green-Wood Cemetery Brooklyn, New York Laurel Grove Cemetery Savannah, Georgia Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Concord, Massachusetts Central Park New York, New York Gettysburg National Cemetery Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Arlington National Cemetery Arlington, Virginia Woodlawn Cemetery Bronx, New York Boothill Graveyard Tombhill, Arizona Forest Lawn Memorial-Park Glenwood, California The Chapel of the Chimes Oakland, California Hollywood Forever Cemetery Los Angeles, California Natures Sanctuary Philadelphia, Pennsylvania