OVER MY DEAD BODY

Astonishing. . . fascinating . . . powerful. . .This clever sensitive book gives us a new way to think about death not as the final chapter but as a window onto life in America.--NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW. A lively tour through the history of US cemeteries that explores how where and why we bury our dead The 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 Melville's lifelong curiosity with how where and why we bury and commemorate our dead. Melville's 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 have also shaped it. Cemeteries have given birth to landscape architecture and famous parks as well as influenced architectural styles. They've inspired and motivated some of our greatest poets and authors—Emerson Whitman Dickinson. They've been used as political tools to shift the country's 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 they're not great for the environment either. Over My Dead Body explores everything—history sustainability land use and more—and what it really means to memorialize. Locales visited in Over My Dead BodyShawsheen Cemetery - Bedford MassachusettsThe 1607 Burial Ground - Historic Jamestowne VirginiaBurial Hill - Plymouth MassachusettsColonial Jewish Burial Ground - Newport Rhode IslandMonticello's African American Graveyard - Charlottesville VirginiaMount Auburn Cemetery - Cambridge MassachusettsGreen-Wood Cemetery - Brooklyn New YorkLaurel Grove Cemetery - Savannah GeorgiaSleepy Hollow Cemetery - Concord MassachusettsCentral Park - New York New YorkGettysburg National Cemetery - Gettysburg PennsylvaniaArlington National Cemetery - Arlington VirginiaWoodlawn Cemetery - Bronx New YorkBoothill Graveyard - Tombhill ArizonaForest Lawn Memorial-Park - Glenwood CaliforniaThe Chapel of the Chimes - Oakland CaliforniaHollywood Forever Cemetery - Los Angeles CaliforniaNature's Sanctuary - Philadelphia Pennsylvania