Last Rites

The Evolution of the American Funeral

Todd Harra

$42.99

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Sounds True Inc
29 November 2022

Sociology: death & dying

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.

By: Todd Harra
Imprint: Sounds True Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 160mm, Spine: 29mm
Weight: 482g
ISBN: 9781683648055
ISBN 10: 1683648056
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 29 November 2022
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

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.

Reviews for Last Rites: The Evolution of the American Funeral

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 thing and the thing itself--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