All the Living and the Dead
From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life's Work
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4.3 • 21 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A deeply compelling exploration of the death industry and the people—morticians, detectives, crime scene cleaners, embalmers, executioners—who work in it and what led them there.
We are surrounded by death. It is in our news, our nursery rhymes, our true-crime podcasts. Yet from a young age, we are told that death is something to be feared. How are we supposed to know what we’re so afraid of, when we are never given the chance to look?
Fueled by a childhood fascination with death, journalist Hayley Campbell searches for answers in the people who make a living by working with the dead. Along the way, she encounters mass fatality investigators, embalmers, and a former executioner who is responsible for ending sixty-two lives. She meets gravediggers who have already dug their own graves, visits a cryonics facility in Michigan, goes for late-night Chinese with a homicide detective, and questions a man whose job it is to make crime scenes disappear.
Through Campbell’s incisive and candid interviews with these people who see death every day, she asks: Why would someone choose this kind of life? Does it change you as a person? And are we missing something vital by letting death remain hidden? A dazzling work of cultural criticism, All the Living and the Dead weaves together reportage with memoir, history, and philosophy, to offer readers a fascinating look into the psychology of Western death.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist Campbell (The Art of Neil Gaiman) delivers a gripping look at professionals who deal with the end of life and their efforts to give people "dignity in death." Although more than 55 million people die around the world every year, Campbell points out, the mechanics of disposing of dead bodies remain mysterious. The book's colorful cast includes Nick Reynolds, son of the mastermind behind the 1963 heist known as the "Great Train Robbery" and the last maker of death masks in the U.K. Campbell also profiles Neal Smither, a "California stoner" turned crime scene cleaner; assists a funeral director in dressing a body; and delves into the history of autopsies and the contributions they've made to medical advances. She notes that the practice of donating one's body to science dates to 1832 and explains how today's medical students train on virtual autopsy tables. Campbell also attends the Mayo Clinic's annual Convocation of Thanks for people who donated their bodies for anatomical study and visits a "white-label" company that helps other companies deal with mass fatalities. Though the morbid details won't be for everyone, Campbell is a sharp and witty observer who successfully conveys her own fascination with the subject. This is a vivid and open-minded look at a taboo topic.
