I love the Culbertson and Randall "Permanent" series books because they don't strive to be comprehensive. Other cemetery guides become tedious lists o...moreI love the Culbertson and Randall "Permanent" series books because they don't strive to be comprehensive. Other cemetery guides become tedious lists of all the famous people jammed into a cemetery, but these books go for depth instead, collecting up biographies of a few choice permanent residents. It's arguable you take more away from this series than the others, where either you recognize the famous names or you don't.
While Permanent Londoners spends a fair amount of time on the Magnificent Seven cemeteries (Brompton, Highgate, Kensal Green, etc.), it really shines for poking around inside landmarks that make up in history what they lack in acreage. Four chapters explore Westminster Abbey; one covers the Poets' Corner alone. Other chapters look into the Tower of London and St. Paul's crypt. That's worth the price of the book right there, as far as I'm concerned.
I also like that the book wanders as far as Windsor Castle, discussing the monarchs who chose to be buried at home, rather than in town.
My copy was published in 1996, but I see a more recent version came out in 2000. I hope someone allows them to update it for the current decade.(less)
This is the best guide to the cemeteries of Los Angeles yet. Jammed with Douglas Keister's beautiful color photographs -- all exquisitely printed -- t...moreThis is the best guide to the cemeteries of Los Angeles yet. Jammed with Douglas Keister's beautiful color photographs -- all exquisitely printed -- the book weighs more than the other guides, which might make it prohibitive to drag around a graveyard with you, if you're juggling a camera and notebook, too. If you're just sightseeing, this is the book for you. All the color headstone photos make it easy to know exactly what you're looking for.
However, the book is short on history of the graveyards. Permanent Californians is better for that, as well as more fully developed biographies of the biggest stars. Forever L.A. also focuses on fewer celebrities; if you want a more comprehensive list, Laid to Rest in California is the book you want.
In addition, Forever L.A. suffers from puzzling organization. You can read the section on Westwood Village Memorial Park, but the text directs you elsewhere in the book to the listing for Don Knotts and somewhere else again to read about Marilyn Monroe. In fact, Marilyn's biography snuggles up against one for Joe DiMaggio, who isn't buried in L.A. at all. I guess this just proves my contention that any collection of gravestones is necessarily going to be idiosyncratic and reflect the predilections of the person compiling it.
I see what Keister was doing when he collected together all the stars of The Wizard of Oz or Bonanza or It's a Mad, Mad (etc.) World, but I found it frustrating not to have all the cemetery information gathered into the appropriate chapter when I was standing in the graveyard. Is this book meant for armchair travelers or people in the field?
And why is the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland included at all? While the photos are lovely, the section takes up valuable book real estate that could have been used by Angelus Rosedale, where Hattie McDaniel is buried and Buffy the Vampire Slayer was filmed.
Still, if you are traveling to L.A. and want to visit graveyards, I suggest you start with this book. It's the most recent and has by far the prettiest pictures. You just might want to dip into the other books for more depth after you get home.(less)
The book jacket describes this as the "first and only" guide to the cemeteries of New England. I'm curious to know if that's true. I know there were g...moreThe book jacket describes this as the "first and only" guide to the cemeteries of New England. I'm curious to know if that's true. I know there were guides to Mt. Auburn and the other garden cemeteries published in the 19th century (unfortunately, I don't have any of them in my collection), but I don't know if there was an overall guide to the region -- or if this is just a publisher's hype.
Either way, this is a really fun book. If you're making a road trip, as I've been lucky enough to do, throughout New England and wonder what lovely graveyards you might find along the way, this is the ideal guidebook. Andrew Kull seems to have actually visited these cemeteries and has opinionated, entertaining observations about them. I like that he directs H. P. Lovecraft "cultists" to ask directions to the author's grave when they visit Swan Point Cemetery in Providence. I like also his assertion: "Burial Hill in Plymouth enjoys, without question, the most magnificent site of any cemetery in New England." Doesn't that just make you want to see for yourself?
The primary flaw is a dearth of photographs, although there are a few. In addition, New England Cemeteries jams 260 cemeteries, graveyards, and burial grounds into a mere 240-some pages (plus index and an essay on how to make grave rubbings), so you're not getting in-depth information. In fact, you're not even getting cemetery addresses, though the book does include opening hours, which were current in 1975. Still, for company on a road trip, Kull's book is a useful and entertaining companion.(less)
There seem to be very few books about the graveyards of New Mexico. This one, which collects lovely black-and-white photographs taken in the early 194...moreThere seem to be very few books about the graveyards of New Mexico. This one, which collects lovely black-and-white photographs taken in the early 1940s, documents the camposantos that the photographer recognized would be going away. The wooden crosses and picket fences couldn't stand forever, even in the desert air. I wonder if these images could be recreated now, or if she was right, and all that's contained in this book has passed away.
The historical essay which opens the book raises an interesting point: During New Mexico's colonial period, "hostile Indians" desecrated graves, which led to burials inside churches. (I would have liked to see some images illustrating those burials.) By the 1880s, when things were more settled, every village had a camposanto surrounding its adobe church. Unlike the stark images in this book, some grave monuments were brightly painted, while others were white-washed. Crowns of thorns or roses were common decorations, but like the colors, these had vanished by the time these photos were taken.
The grave markers recorded here range from hand-lettered cement to rough wooden crosses to ornately shaped or pierced wooden planks. Offerings range from real cacti planted at the marker's foot to silk flowers or pine branches. Many of the monuments have lost their names, yet some still stand bolt upright against the dramatic sky.
Despite or because of the melancholy black-and-white photos, it's a really beautiful book. It makes me want to go back to New Mexico and seek some of these places out for myself. I wonder how much has survived. (less)
I've been curious how many of the old Spanish missions still have their original graveyards. This book provided some guidance through its photographs...moreI've been curious how many of the old Spanish missions still have their original graveyards. This book provided some guidance through its photographs (because, let's face it, old graves are picturesque), but for the most part, the graveyards didn't rate much mention in the text. My search will have to continue.
That said, the photographs in this book are really lovely. They capture the interiors of the old churches and the details of their decorations. Sunlight paints the rooms. Outside, the skies are always the luminous Californian blue. Flowers nod and trees drowse and things seem very peaceful. Where appropriate, the museums or recreated cells of the padres are staged as carefully as a photo shoot. This book, whether a spur to exploring California's Spanish -- and Mexican -- history or as a souvenir after such a trip, is beautiful to page through.
It falls down in the text, unfortunately, The same details are repeated over and over: the fathers select the mission site. The natives help build a church. It floods. There's an earthquake or a fire. The soldiers molest the natives. There's an uprising. Spain hands the missions over to Mexico, who doesn't want the bother. The missions are sold, then mistreated, then almost destroyed. Rinse, repeat. There's really little point in reading the whole book cover to cover, as I did, because the story is the same every time.
I would have liked to know more about the native tribes and what they lost. I would have liked to know more about daily life in the missions. I would have liked to know more about those mission churchyards and who is buried there. Who marked their graves and why? How many forgotten Native Americans lie there and what's been done to perpetuate their memory?
I'm not sure why this book is so expensive. Yes, it's full of black and white photographs, but really, $75? It's not worth that.
Assembled from the Lib...moreI'm not sure why this book is so expensive. Yes, it's full of black and white photographs, but really, $75? It's not worth that.
Assembled from the Library of Congress's photo archives, Cemeteries is a "visual sourcebook" of images of American graveyards taken by families, news photographers, stereograms, advertisers, and government agencies. Sections focus on gates, grave markers, mausoleums, and other details of graveyards -- which is what I bought the book for and it's most useful attribute.
Unfortunately, the author assembling the photos got lazy. Rather than show a variety of African Americans working in cemeteries across the country, he includes a series of photos of the same people in the same cemetery. I would've found comparison and contrast more interesting than depth, especially since the depth is at odds from the way the rest of the book is put together. The same cemeteries and photographers do keep coming up over and over more than is truly necessary in other sections, but "Comings and Goings in the Silent City" is the most repetitive. It's disappointing.
If you are a cemetery fanatic, you might need to have this book (if you can get it discounted on Amazon). The historical overview in the first section is particularly useful. The photos throughout lean toward documentary rather than art, but if you bring a fair amount of knowledge to the book, it will reward you, even as it frustrates you. It could have been really spectacular. Instead, it seems rushed.(less)
Hugh Meller was the Historic Buildings Representative for the National Trust, so he grasps the intersection of architecture and British history. The b...moreHugh Meller was the Historic Buildings Representative for the National Trust, so he grasps the intersection of architecture and British history. The book does descend into jargon from time to time, but it is the most comprehensive and complete guide to the graveyards of London I've read yet. I have a pretty good collection on the topic.
Opening with a lovely hand-drawn map, my edition of the book is the third. (I see a fifth edition was published in 2011, which expands the list of cemeteries covered from 103 to 126.) In addition to the Victorian-era Magnificent Seven cemeteries (Highgate, Kensal Green, Brompton, Abney Park, Nunhead, Norwood, and Tower Hamlets), Meller pokes around the Jewish cemeteries, the Dissenters' cemeteries, and pretty much any cemetery that still exists and is not affiliated with a single parish or church.
Which begs the question: has someone written a "Graveyard Shift: A Family Historian's Guide to New York City Cemeteries"-style book about London, tracing all the early burial grounds and plague pits, now gone? There would be a lot of history to explore!
Back to the matter at hand: Meller begins with a history of burial reform in England. London lagged not only behind Pere Lachaise, but also behind Glasgow and Liverpool in closing down the noxious churchyards and switching instead to "garden" or "rural" cemeteries where nature and beauty were celebrated in the face of grim death. Meller describes fashions in grave monuments and architecture, illustrated beautifully with crisp black-and-white photography. He includes a quick glossary of tombstone symbols, again fully illustrated with photographs. Some brief thoughts on epitaphs are followed by a chapter on the flora and fauna of the cemeteries, and then we're off to visit the graveyards themselves.
Each listing has a summary of the cemetery's history, its decline and redemption (if appropriate), photos, architectural and monument descriptions, and a smattering of familiar or historically important personnages in the graveyard under discussion. These names total more than 1000. They are helpfully indexed at the back of the book.
While the book is scholarly, it isn't dry. I would recommend it both to the novice visiting London's cemeteries for the first time and to the repeat visitor looking for more depth to her explorations.(less)
This little book is jam-packed with photographs, often three to a page. I like being able to see the grave monument in its surroundings, then close-up...moreThis little book is jam-packed with photographs, often three to a page. I like being able to see the grave monument in its surroundings, then close-ups of its details, although the layout doesn't vary and sometimes two of the photos are so similar as to be redundant. That said, the photographer records remarkable and beautiful things that I've seen nowhere else, so I'm glad to add this book to my collection.
I particularly like the snippets of information she adds about the monuments. The Bianchi angel that serves an an opera singer's effigy is just lovely. The child statue with a face drawn from a death mask is disturbing. Tingley's mirrored bird in Monteparnasse (misspelled in the book) is so spectacular that it makes me want to go back to that cemetery myself to see it. Also, I like that the monuments are shown in summer and covered with snow, which hints at the depth of the photographer's relationship with the things she photographs.
Unfortunately, the typo is one of several that troubled me. The author inconsistently uses a lowercase C when naming the cemeteries: Greyfriars cemetery, Kensal Green cemetery, East Sheen cemetery. It makes me wonder if the word cemetery is part of the graveyard's name or if it's really a kirkyard or memorial park or burying ground. The grammar geek in me wants proper names to be capitalized.
Also, I wished for an essay or some kind of text longer than a paragraph to put the cemeteries in context. They're mostly British, with inclusions from Paris and Barcelona. Are the monuments contemporary? Why was she drawn to them? Is it the story that draws her or the image?
In the end, I wish the book was longer. Since it's published by lulu.com, it's expensive: nearly a dollar per page, once you add in postage. That's a shame, because I think many people would fall in love with these photos, as I have, if it were more affordable.(less)
When this was written, Xavier Cronin was editor of American Funeral Director and American Cemetery magazines. He was in a privileged position to make...moreWhen this was written, Xavier Cronin was editor of American Funeral Director and American Cemetery magazines. He was in a privileged position to make predictions about the way cemeteries would change and the new options people would require for final disposition of their loved ones.
For instance, he predicted that by 2010, one American in 3 would choose to be cremated. In 2010, the Cremation Association of North America put the actual figure closer to 40%, but that varies wildly across the US. In some of the Western States, the figure approaches 70% - two people of 3.
Even so, the book is full of fascinating tidbits of information: Great Britain "ran out" of burial space after WWII, which accounts for their high percentage of cremation (73% in 2010). In addition to that, British law says that a used grave can be reused for a new burial after 75 years, as long as the descendants of the original occupant don't object or can't be found. The first occupant can't be disturbed in any way. Apparently "double-depth burial" was being used in American cemeteries in 1996. Cronin predicted the practice would spread.
Cronin also reported that no one knew the number of burial grounds "scattered" across America, but that the common estimate was 100,000. Of those, one-fourth were known. The other 75,000 were family plots, abandoned village graveyards, forgotten war dead. There's no national consensus on who should care for these graves -- even in cities which built over historic burial grounds that simply disappeared from their maps.
Cronin doesn't draw a connection between the modern dead who have their ashes scattered and vanish without leaving a monument behind and these forgotten souls from the past. Instead he writes at length about mausolea, where the dead can be warehoused and cemeteries can find easy income. Clearly, that's not the way most Americans are choosing to go.
The book gave me plenty of food for thought, despite its age.(less)
This was the second of Culbertson and Randall's "Permanent" series, exploring the permanent residents of Paris, California, Italy, and London. This on...moreThis was the second of Culbertson and Randall's "Permanent" series, exploring the permanent residents of Paris, California, Italy, and London. This one feels like it covers a vast amount of territory, from offering multiple tours of Green-Wood and Woodlawn to capsule suggestions of quick trips to the Hartsdale Canine Cemetery, Belmont Racetrack, and the Quaker Cemetery of Brooklyn.
Some of the choices are strange. There's a scant paragraph about the New York Marble Cemetery, which holds the remnants of 40 cemeteries that were destroyed to make room for the City's growth. It makes me wonder if the authors found the cemetery closed when they visited, as I did in June. Strawberry Fields in Central Park rates more description, even though the authors admit that John Lennon's ashes aren't buried there. The Hart's Island Potter's Field is included for the sake of completeness, I suppose, even though I'd be surprised if most tourists could or would want to try to visit it.
Which may be the split between the authors' intention for this book and the way I want to use it. It's not a guidebook, in that it doesn't include cemetery addresses, opening hours, or suggestions for how to visit the cemeteries listed inside. It doesn't include enough photographs of the graves or graveyards and spends page after page on biographies of people like Judy Garland, Theodore Roosevelt, and Malcolm X. Maybe it's meant to be an armchair travel book.
My quest for the perfect New York City cemetery guide continues -- but this was an excellent reference to read in the hotel room between cemetery explorations. (less)
I picked this one up in a gift shop in Rome after visiting the Catacombs of St. Sebastian on the Appian Way. Now, after reading it, I want to go back...moreI picked this one up in a gift shop in Rome after visiting the Catacombs of St. Sebastian on the Appian Way. Now, after reading it, I want to go back to Rome and explore other underground cemeteries. Apparently, St. Sebastian's was one of the earlier ones and others have beautiful mosaics or other decorations still in place. One even still has a saint's bones in their original location. Sebastian's catacombs have been thoroughly emptied over the years. Its namesake saint's bones now lie in the basilica upstairs.
Rather than the tourist-friendly text I was hoping for, The Christian Catacombs of Rome is a scholarly work, full of terms like cubicula and arcosolia and phrases like "richly decorated with wall revetment in opus sectile." (None of which my spell-check is liking.) Rather than the extensive bibliography of works in Italian, I would have prefered a glossary and a timeline. The book does include a removable map of 121 Early Christian Monuments in Rome and its Suburbs. Who knew there were so many?
I'm glad for the book's extensive photo illustrations, capturing the murals, mosaics, and architectural details of the many Christian catacombs. The full-color pictures are much crisper than any tourist could capture. I wish, however, that the book was divided up so that it examined each of the more than 60 catacombs in order. I would like to be able to compare one to the next and know which are still open to visit.(less)
From the spectacular cover picture to the maps inside the graveyards that lead you to points of interest, this is one of the best Images of America ce...moreFrom the spectacular cover picture to the maps inside the graveyards that lead you to points of interest, this is one of the best Images of America cemetery books I've read. The only thing that keeps it from getting 5 stars is that it devolves into photos of families of historic people gathered for 50th anniversary parties or birthdays: intimate family moments that detract from the scale of events commemorated by these grave monuments. It felt like author was padding the book out or pandering to the families included.
With this book in hand, I just had the pleasure of exploring the Santa Clara Mission Cemetery. I wish she had included some information about the mission from which the cemetery takes its name. In fact, I had to go on the internet to find out it no longer exists. I also discovered that each of the earlier sites of the Santa Clara Mission had been surrounded by a graveyard, but I've yet to find information about whether or where those graves were moved.
Still, Lichtenstein does a great job of pointing out interesting or significant monuments and including photos of the people buried beneath them. I look forward to taking her book along when I explore the Mission City Memorial Park, just down the road from the Mission Cemetery.(less)
I bought this in the gift shop at the African Burial Ground in Manhattan. I was hoping for a book that explained in some depth the archaeological stud...moreI bought this in the gift shop at the African Burial Ground in Manhattan. I was hoping for a book that explained in some depth the archaeological study done on the 410 bodies recovered from the forgotten burial ground. Instead, the author talks in circles about the reburial -- which while extremely important and interesting -- should have come at the end of the book instead of in the middle. The lack of coherent historical narrative is the most frustrating part of this booklet. You would think in 33 pages it could have told a linear story.
With over a thousand years of history behind it, Westminster Abbey is the repository of memory in the heart of London. Anyone who is anyone in the Uni...moreWith over a thousand years of history behind it, Westminster Abbey is the repository of memory in the heart of London. Anyone who is anyone in the United Kingdom tried to get themselves buried in the Abbey for hundreds of years. Those who were buried elsewhere were often honored with a monument as grand as a life-sized sculpture or as simple as a plaque on the wall. One could spend hours wandering amongst the statuary inside the church and still miss many gems.
The abbey’s website says, “Taken as a whole, the tombs and memorials comprise the most significant single collection of monumental sculpture anywhere in the United Kingdom.” Unfortunately, photography inside the Abbey is prohibited. Some photographs of the monuments are available in the Abbey's gift shop or in one of the souvenir guidebooks for sale. What is needed, though, is a serious photographic study of the wonders jammed cheek by jowl against the Abbey's walls.
This book attempts to document some of the mortuary sculpture. Of necessity, the shades of gray in the photos blunt the whiteness of the marble and brighten the darkness of the shadows, so they don't completely do justice to the Abbey's treasures. Still, Blundell has a fascination with detail and uses tight focus to good effect, giving a sense of the way your eye bounces around the room, struggling to take it all in.
I like that the book includes capsule biographies of the people commemorated by the statuary. I wish the biographies were attached to their pictures, rather than arranged by number at the back of the book. The arrangement makes sense if you're at the Abbey, working your way around the room and matching the photographs to the artwork. As a reader who might be interested in finding, say, Isaac Newton's grave, the lack of alphabetization or an index means that I have to read through the biographies until I find him, then cross-reference back to the photo.
Still, until I can make my own collection of photographs from Westminster Abbey, I'm glad to have this book. It's lovely, if frustrating.(less)
Everywhere you go, there's a cemetery. Case in point: tucked into Yosemite Valley is a tiny graveyard where pioneers, Native Americans, and summer vis...moreEverywhere you go, there's a cemetery. Case in point: tucked into Yosemite Valley is a tiny graveyard where pioneers, Native Americans, and summer visitors rest in peace. The graveyard is a pretty, peaceful place, despite the 3 million visitors to Yosemite National Park each year.
A visit to the Yosemite Pioneer Cemetery is much enhanced by bringing along this little guidebook, which is available from the Visitor Center gift shop. It provides biographies of the Valley's permanent residents, along with photographs and history lessons. The stories it tells are the best part.
The book also provides a map, so you can stand at the grave as you read about the person beneath your feet.
As far as I'm concerned, this is the perfect souvenir for a trip to Yosemite. My only quibble is that I wish it began with more history of the valley, so that the people who stay there now were put into a wider perspective. (less)
This is one of the best Images of America books I've read so far. It covers a large swath of eastern California. Inyo and Mono Counties are two of the...moreThis is one of the best Images of America books I've read so far. It covers a large swath of eastern California. Inyo and Mono Counties are two of the state's largest, and at one point were among the wealthiest, but now are home to less than 32,000 people. The history spans from the native peoples through the Gold and Silver Rushes, up to the interment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and on to the current farming and ranching that continues to this day.
Philibert-Ortega acknowledges that there are graveyards -- and lonely graves -- scattered throughout the Eastern Sierras. Instead, she chooses to focus on the larger or more historically important communities, including Manzanar, Bodie, Mono Lake, and the Owens Valley. There's a lot of history packed in this little book. The author does a great job of summarizing the stories and illustrating them with the appropriate headstone, as well as with the occasional vintage photograph.
Of special note are David Ortega's crisp photographs, documenting the graveyards as they currently exist. These are among the most beautiful photos to appear in an Images of America cemetery book.
Published in 1972 when Americans were beginning to wake up to the kinds of landscapes they were surrounding themselves with, Victorian Cemetery Art pr...morePublished in 1972 when Americans were beginning to wake up to the kinds of landscapes they were surrounding themselves with, Victorian Cemetery Art proposed that people look back at earlier consciously-created landscapes. Photographer Edmund V. Gillon opens the book with a quick overview of the garden cemetery movement, illustrated with lovely etchings of the era, then moves into describing the iconography and statuary common to the Victorians.
Gillon points out that the very anonymity of the artists who created cemetery monuments forces us to look at their work freshly, forced to judge it on its own merits rather than because it was created by someone famous or is displayed by a well-regarded museum. He points out that generations of Americans learned about art solely from their visits to the local cemetery, because in most communities, that was where art was kept.
After the brief introduction, Gillon sets about illustrating his argument. In 260 black-and-white photographs, he displays all that is lovely about American Victorian-era cemetery decorations: angels, grieving women, veiled children, family pets, and more. He illuminates trends in iconography, like the open book, the heavenly gate, the sphinx, the broken harp, and whole flocks of birds. Some of my favorite monuments are those to sailors, whether lost at sea or anchored to their faith.
I don't know enough about the history of Gillon's book to know if it brought about the resurgence of interest in cemeteries for which he hoped. Now, as an artifact of another's cemetery obsession, it's a book that reaches across the years to spark our own explorations.(less)
This is a spectacularly beautiful book, which I fully expected after seeing Grant's photography by way of the cemetery groups on Facebook. His picture...moreThis is a spectacularly beautiful book, which I fully expected after seeing Grant's photography by way of the cemetery groups on Facebook. His pictures capture the vivid colors of spring, summer, and autumn, as well as the indignities wrought by time, lichen, and pollution. The photos manage to be both joyful and melancholy, like the best exploration of a cemetery on a sunny day.
Unfortunately, rather than caption the photographs as to where they were taken, there's an index with minuscule print on the penultimate page. I'm going to have to do the work to cross-reference the photos, because there are monuments that Grant has documented that I would like to see for myself.
The book's text is primarily limited to epitaphs drawn from Grant's cemetery travels. That element disappointed me, since the epitaphs appear without any identifying information beyond a date -- which I assume is the date of death on the tombstone from which they are copied, although that isn't made clear. I'd like to know more. What state did the epitaph come from? What city? What graveyard? Was the person it remembers male, female, young, old? Can anything be inferred about the family's religious beliefs or familial connections or social relationships? Is the epitaph original to the stone from which it came? Is this person individualized? Or are the epitaphs quoted from scripture or hymns or poetry of the time?
Without more information, the epitaphs became tedious. They appear to be mostly Christian, mostly Victorian, and while they don't seem to repeat exactly, their all too similar sentiments become repetitious.
Several years ago, I heard a fascinating presentation at an Association for Gravestone Studies conference on the origins of familiar epitaphs. I wish Grant had included some of that information here.
About halfway through the book, I gave up on reading the epitaphs altogether and returned to simply gazing at the wonderful pictures. They are where the true magic of this book lies. (less)
It's rare for me to give a cemetery book such a low rating, but it's rare for a cemetery book to contain so much dry information that even my interest...moreIt's rare for me to give a cemetery book such a low rating, but it's rare for a cemetery book to contain so much dry information that even my interest wanes.
I assumed, from the subtitle, that this would be a book about the West. In this case, the west is limited to the Rocky Mountain states. Since I live west of that, I struggled with my disappointment. Also from the subtitle, I assumed this would be a book about cemeteries as "sculpture gardens." While I hoped for an accent on the garden aspect, Stott accents the sculptors rather than their works. The horticultural details gets scant attention.
The text focuses on the business aspects of the cemetery trade. I find that I am more interested in the stories recorded in stone than in the stone carvers. I wanted to spend more time in the graveyards and less time in workshops.
I read this book in advance of a trip to the Salt Lake City Cemetery, hoping to glean some background that would add richness and depth to my exploration. Instead, the beautiful historic cemetery, which easily rates a chapter of its own, gets short shrift. Then again, no one seems to have done justice to the graveyard with a book of its own, so perhaps that information is impossibly difficult to come by?
In the end, I was bored and disappointed by this book.(less)
In the 19th century, the two greatest tourist attractions in North America were Niagara Falls and Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery. This well-researched...moreIn the 19th century, the two greatest tourist attractions in North America were Niagara Falls and Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery. This well-researched and fully illustrated coffee table book will make you feel that you are there.
And what a place it is! Green-Wood is the final home of Samuel Morse, Leonard Bernstein, Jean Michel Basquiat, Boss Tweed, Currier and Ives, F.A.O. Schwartz, Louis Comfort Tiffany, as well as spiritualists, artists, soldiers, silent film stars, Native Americans, sports heroes, and even Frank Morgan, the Wizard of Oz. Paging through this book, you can pay your respects and visit their graves, but it would be wonderful to join one of Green-Wood's guided tours and see the place for yourself.
Until you can get there in person, this fascinating and comprehensively illustrated book will whet your appetite.(less)
I was excited to find a book about Manhattan's African Burial Ground, which I visited in May 2002. At that time, it was merely a patch of grass inside...moreI was excited to find a book about Manhattan's African Burial Ground, which I visited in May 2002. At that time, it was merely a patch of grass inside a chain-link fence with an historic plaque, not much of a remembrance for the thousands of Africans, slaves and free, who were interred there. Of course, after 9/11, commemorating the long-dead became less of a priority. Thankfully, the site has been made right at last.
The subtitle of this book is "The Story of New York's African Burial Ground." Unfortunately, when the book was published in 1998, not much seems to have been known about the graveyard. Perhaps Howard University was still performing the analyses of the 400+ bodies that were recovered, but only a handful of the reclaimed bodies are discussed here. Maybe the archaeologists were busy writing their papers for other publications, but there's not much information about what they found. What's there is fascinating, but scant.
Apparently there are few historical documents pertaining to the space, other than old maps. The authors pad out the book with history lessons drawn from legal records about the treatment and lives of the Africans brought to the colony by the Dutch, then the British, then the new-fledged Americans. The history was new to me, but not nearly as interesting as the contents of the graveyard -- for which I'd purchased the book.
My hope is that there will be a new book available when I revisit the African Burial Ground (now a national monument) this summer.
ETA: The African Burial Ground National Monument gift shop sells a small paper-bound booklet called New York's African Burial Ground, but it lacks coherent structure and the text is repetitive. There still seems to be no solid book about this important graveyard.(less)
I bought this one for the pictures, which are uniformly lovely throughout. I hadn't realized quite how many Neolithic and Bronze Age ruins there are i...moreI bought this one for the pictures, which are uniformly lovely throughout. I hadn't realized quite how many Neolithic and Bronze Age ruins there are in the United Kingdom. This book doesn't include all of them, but there are a lot.
The book is a companion to the DVD film of the same name. Maybe because of that, it never defines the terms it proceeds to use: cairn, cist, dolmen, etc. A glossary would have helped me. Also, I needed an overarching timeline, so I could watch the developments of stone tombs and henges over the span of history. I felt sort of overwhelmed and lost in the material as it stands.
I feel like I learned more than I expected about Neolithic and Bronze Age burial rituals. Now I’m going to have to search out another book to see the goods removed from these graves. It’s an area of archaeology I didn’t even realize I was curious about.
In the end, the book left me wanting more: more information, more photographs, more history. I’m inspired to visit and see some of these amazing places for myself. (less)
Morton's book does a great job of introducing an unfamiliar visitor to the cemetery. She introduces the important permanent residents with an appropri...moreMorton's book does a great job of introducing an unfamiliar visitor to the cemetery. She introduces the important permanent residents with an appropriate amount of information, then focuses on the lovely and unusual statuary in the cemetery's permanent collection. She includes Cleveland-area history, illustrated with just the right number of vintage photographs. She discusses the varieties of nationalities-of-birth represented in Lake View.
My chief issue with this cemetery guide is the cover photo, which -- while hinting at the diversity of monuments within Lake View Cemetery -- gives no indication how beautiful the place is. Even in mid-November, with most of the leaves already drifted to the grass, Lake View is a gem of garden cemetery design.
I found this book in the shop at the Cleveland Clinic, which turns out to be just down the road from Lake View Cemetery. Morton's guidebook encouraged me to visit Lake View for myself. I am so glad I did. The restful beauty was exactly the respite I needed from my hospital vigil.(less)
In its history, New York City has dug up and covered over dozens of burial grounds. Carolee Inskeep tracked them down. Written encyclopedia-style, The...moreIn its history, New York City has dug up and covered over dozens of burial grounds. Carolee Inskeep tracked them down. Written encyclopedia-style, The Graveyard Shift lists hundreds of graveyards, along with years of usage and some brief historical information. Since Inskeep's book is designed for family historians, she includes information on where records can be found and contact information.
My chief complaint about the text is that it includes no illustrations: no photos of famous New Yorkers, no beautiful gravestones, no historic photos or other ephemera. The loss is more keenly felt since the little cover photo of a graveyard chock-full of simple crosses and grieving muses -- with the Empire State Building rising behind -- is really perfect for the book. In my edition, the photo is neither identified or credited. I am guessing it's taken from Queens. Please correct me if that's wrong: it's a place I'd love to see for myself.(less)
Dennis Evanosky is a docent at Mountain View Cemetery. I've taken one of his tours and heard him speak passionately about the work he's done researchi...moreDennis Evanosky is a docent at Mountain View Cemetery. I've taken one of his tours and heard him speak passionately about the work he's done researching and caring for the Grand Army of the Republic plot in the cemetery. He's extremely committed to his subject.
This book, unfortunately, skims along the depth of his knowledge. Almost every section could be longer. Each of the local personages he mentions rates a page of his or her own, rather than the paragraph they receive. The chief disappointment is that photos are not well reproduced. They tend to be muddy and gray, without much artistry or contrast. This beautiful place deserves better.
That said, I like the way Evanosky combined a portrait of the person, a photo of the grave monument, and other historical material, whether a photo of the person's home or business or perhaps an advertisement. Reading this book, I get a sense of the city Oakland once was.
I also like the section toward the back where Evanosky uses the monuments in Mountain View to illustrate mortuary symbolism. That's really nicely done.
I waver between 3 stars and 4 for this book. I learned a fair amount, but I wished for more. In fact, I wish that Mountain View Cemetery had a lovely full-color guide like Cypress Lawn: Guardian of California's Heritage.(less)
Mark Taylor opens the book by telling how he discovered he had two siblings who died before he knew them. That leads him to what he calls his "ghosts,...moreMark Taylor opens the book by telling how he discovered he had two siblings who died before he knew them. That leads him to what he calls his "ghosts," philosophers and other modern figures who inspired and shaped his life. He traveled the world making rubbings of their graves, which led him to want to make a book of photographs "of the graves of cultural figures who created the modern world."
The text segues from the personal to a brief idiosyncratic history of cemeteries in the West. From there, it drifts into philosophy, where I thought it lost its originality and interest. Luckily, the text makes up less than a quarter of the book.
The rest of the book is filled with black & white photos of gravestones. Any collection of gravestone photos is going to reveal more about the collector than the dead. Grave Matters takes that generalization to an extreme. There is no biographical information about the names illustrated here. Some like Galileo and Thoreau need no introduction, but George Berkeley and Denis Diderot were completely unknown to me. The unfamiliar names equal or surpass the recognizable. As a reader, I felt excluded.
The photos range from beautifully shot and reproduced to some that are so dark that their stone faces are illegible. Sometimes the photographer (Dietrich Christian Lammerts) shot the grave monuments in context, which I appreciated, but those photos don't always appear in proximity. Beethoven's grave appears on page 64 and again on page 73. Perhaps that's an error of design, but it's weird. On the other hand, sometimes the gravestones are shot in such tight closeup that they're blurry, like Byron's. Benjamin Franklin's stone must have been shot through the fence, but it's cropped so tight that it's hard to read.
Other weird choices puzzled me. Gertrude Stein was buried in the grave in the photo labeled with her name, but the headstone in the picture reads Alice Toklas. The photograph was taken on the wrong side of the stone, instead of the side with Stein's name. The cenotaph to Mozart -- whose body went to an anonymous grave, but not in the cemetery where the marker stands -- is included without remark. Later, several different bodies of water appear; one is labeled "Fredrich Engels, 1820-1895. Eastborne, England" without any explanation. Were Engels's ashes scattered here? Did he drown? Jeremy Bentham's preserved body is the only time human remains appear. It's a shock to suddenly see a human face, albeit cast in wax. Text would have made those inclusions more understandable.
Still, the book shows an impressive breadth of travel, from American cemeteries to churchyards in England to graveyards in small villages in France, through Germany, Norway, and on into Russia to visit Chekhov. If only it included a table of contents or an index of the photos, so the dead would be easily to locate in the book than they must have been in real life.(less)
Less about cemeteries than about racehorses, this is a very strange book indeed. It might serve as an introduction to the appeal of graveyards for a s...moreLess about cemeteries than about racehorses, this is a very strange book indeed. It might serve as an introduction to the appeal of graveyards for a skeptical relative who understands the jargon of horse racing and is familiar with the big races, champions, and breeders of the past.
It might also provide an itinerary for travel in Kentucky. Zeh explains that equine graveyards vary from a lone monument to formal cemeteries, some of which include bronze statuary. The book indexes horse monuments by farm, followed by maps that show where the bodies are buried. (So to speak, anyway. Sometimes horses were not buried in their entirety: only their heads, hearts, and hooves were interred.) The morbid aspects are glossed over in favor of biographies of the deceased.
The book includes a color photo of each headstone visited, as well as copious photos of the horses, jockeys, and races. Some of the cemeteries are remarkably poignant.
I envision tourists standing beside the granite marker of Domino, "one of the gamest and more generous of horses," reading from the guidebook about his victories and funeral. For some reason, the image warms my black heart.
This review originally appeared on Gothic.Net in November 2001.(less)
In 1992, Svanevik and Burgett compiled the initial edition of Pillars of the Past to commemorate the centennial of Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma...moreIn 1992, Svanevik and Burgett compiled the initial edition of Pillars of the Past to commemorate the centennial of Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma, California. That book has been long out of print (I’ve never come across a copy for sale in San Francisco), so this new edition is very welcome.
Svanevik has worked closely with Cypress Lawn (in fact, he's been involved with their monthly lecture series since 2001), so one assumes that some of the dirt involved in the cemetery business has been left out. However, due to his trusted position, he and Burgett were given complete access to the cemetery’s records. The largest portion of the book collects thumbnail biographies of some of the 30,000+ people buried here. Some of the stories are less than flattering, but all of the photographs are delightful.
In fact, I wish there were more of photographs, because Cypress Lawn has a matchless collection of funerary art —- including a copy of William Wetmore Story’s Angel of Grief (Weeping Over the Dismantled Altar of Life), private tombs designed by the major architects responsible for downtown San Francisco, and hundreds of feet of exquisite stained glass ceilings inside the public mausoleum.
Unfortunately, the people who lie in Cypress Lawn are, while locally famous, generally unknown. Lucky Baldwin made his fortune in the Comstock Silver Mines, as did James Flood. John McLaren, the most influential superintendent of Golden Gate Park, rests here, along with Gertrude Atherton, author of 60 books about Old California. Some of the most interesting people are buried in an anonymous mound beneath the pioneer monument, where they were placed after San Francisco’s old Laurel Hill Cemetery was closed in 1940. Among them are Senator David Broderick, killed in the last important duel in the nation; Andrew Hallidie, father of San Francisco’s cable cars; and Phineas Gage, who survived having an iron rod driven through his skull, albeit as a changed man. He lies in the mound sans head, which was removed for study by Harvard University.
If you or your loved ones reside in California, Cypress Lawn demands a pilgrimage. The cemetery offers tours on the third Saturday of each month. (Call 650-755-0580 to RSVP.) Before you come, do your research by studying Pillars of the Past. The book might be difficult to track down, but it is available from Cypress Lawn Heritage Foundation, 1370 El Camino Real, Colma, CA 94014 or at www.cypresslawn.com.
This review originally appeared in Morbid Curiosity #7. (less)
Susan Morris offers this little book as a chapter of the Diaspora set in the American West. She points out that even before a synagogue is founded, Je...moreSusan Morris offers this little book as a chapter of the Diaspora set in the American West. She points out that even before a synagogue is founded, Jewish tradition requires that ground be consecrated for a cemetery. Because of this, graveyards were created in California Gold Rush towns that never built their own synagogues, where religious services were held at the Masonic Temple or Odd Fellows Hall. Sometimes, the graveyard is all that remains of that Jewish community.
The book is comprised of self-guided tours of seven Gold Rush-era cemeteries. Some of them are open to the public, while arrangements must be made in advance to view others. Throughout the tours, Morris paints a clear picture of Jewish life during the early years of California statehood, ranging from the first High Holiday celebrated in a tent in San Francisco through the threat of the Stowe bill that would have forbidden Jews to conduct business on Sunday, to the clothier shops that remain in business to this day. As a window on a vanished time and scattered people, this book is full of note-worthy information and touching photographs.
I would have liked some information on the Jewish cemeteries of Colma, which include pioneers, as well as Sacramento's Old City Cemetery, which also would have had a significant Jewish population. More, better reproduced photos would have been nice, too.
This review originally appeared on Gothic.Net in November 2002.(less)
Alabama Cemeteries' first listing is the Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard, final home to more than 165 dogs. The choice to open the book with...moreAlabama Cemeteries' first listing is the Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard, final home to more than 165 dogs. The choice to open the book with this strange little burial ground hints at the quirky personality of the author who collected these photographs and tall tales.
The stories range from a man struck twice by lightning in life and at least three times in his grave to the Cherokee mother who buried her infant inside a hollow tree beside the Trail of Tears, from the rise up from slavery of Alabama's first African American congressman (in 1870!) to the "Paul Revere" of the South and an arsonist KKK sheriff, to the way Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver ended up resting eternally at the Tuskegee University.
Although the black-and-white illustrations suffer from the printing process, they are fascinating. Booth documents tombstones adorned with death masks in Mount Nebo Cemetery, the brick playhouse built by grieving parents in Oakwood Cemetery, and weeping women in graveyards across the state.
Of the books that describe places I haven't yet had the opportunity to visit, Alabama Cemeteries most sparked my wanderlust.
This review originally appeared in Gothic.Net in November 2002.(less)
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