Last Rites: The Evolution of the American Funeral

(Hardback)

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Why do we embalm the deceased Why are funerals so expensive Is there a reason coffins are shaped the way they are Where does the tradition of viewing the body come from Ceremonies for honoring the deceased are crucial parts of our lives, but few people know where our traditional practices come from-and what they reveal about our history, culture, and beliefs about death. In Last Rites, author Todd Harra takes readers on a fascinating exploration of American funeral customs-exploring where they came from, what they mean, and how they are still evolving. Funeral practices are always changing-sometimes due to technology, respect for tradition, shifting sensibilities, or even to thwart grave robbers. Here you'll learn about the ancient influences for American rites, how the funerals of political figures and fallen soldiers shaped our practices, answers to the most puzzling enigmas about the undertaker's craft, and much more. The American funeral continues to evolve. Today, many people are turning to approaches such as green burial, mushroom suits, Aquamation (flameless cremation), and even composting. Whether you're planning a funeral service or are simply intrigued by the meaning behind American burial practices, Last Rites is an informative and compelling exploration of the history-and future-of the ceremonies we use to say farewell to those who have departed this world.

Reviews

"For readers with a taste for the quirky or the macabre, Harra, a writer and funeral professional, explores the hows and whys of American funerals, including changing influences from religion, war, high-profile deaths, the ancient world, and more." --Library Journal

"A treasure trove of morbid intrigue. Never has a work of nonfiction read more like a thriller novel. Leaving no gruesome detail unexplained, Last Rites is the way history books should always be written." --Southern Calls, The Journal of the Funeral Profession

"For anyone who ever wonders why funerals are the way they are, this book weaves history and modern funeral rites in a way that compares historical norms with current funeral rituals. A must-read." --Brian Waters, host of Undertaking: The Podcast

"To other histories of funeral customs in North America, we can add this richly researched and annotated text by Todd Harra, for whom funerals--both the idea of the things and the things themselves--are worthy of a life's work and serious scrutiny. Humanity is never so manifest as when a human dies; what we do about mortality separates us from other species. Last Rites is for mortals and mortuary sorts, the reverend clergy, and reverential humanists. And Harra is the most reliable kind of witness: a practitioner, scholar, and storyteller." --Thomas Lynch, author of The Depositions and Bone Rosary

Author Bio

Todd Harra has over a decade of experience as a licensed funeral director and embalmer, and is a certified postmortem reconstructionist and cremationist. He has cowritten two nonfiction books about the profession, Mortuary Confidential and Over Our Dead Bodies, and is an associate editor for Southern Calls, a renowned journal in the funeral profession. He is a member of the board of the Delaware State Funeral Directors Association and lives in Wilmington, Delaware. For more, visit toddharra.com.