Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

On the night of the presidential election in 1876, a gang of counterfeiters out of Chicago attempted to steal the entombed embalmed body of Abraham Lincoln and hold it for ransom. The custodian of the tomb was so shaken by the incident that he willingly dedicated the rest of his life to protecting the president's corpse. In a lively and dramatic narrative, Thomas J. Craughwell returns to this bizarre, and... (more)

Bury the Dead: Tombs, Corpses, Mummies, Skeletons, & Rituals

Bury the Dead: Tombs, Corpses, Mummies, Skeletons, & Rituals

by Christopher Sloan

Humans, and especially kids, have always been intrigued by death and the rituals that surround it in various cultures. Christopher Sloan now feeds this fascination with the latest scientific information and shows young readers what archeologists learn from studying the remains and graves of long-dead humans. The book reveals how Neandertals, ancient Egyptians, Maya, Sythians, and others buried their dead, then... (more)

Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality

Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality

by Paul Barber

Barber has written a stimulating, authoritative discourse on the relationship between the historical concepts of vampires in folklore and fiction across the ages and throughout the world. To explain the underlying myraid interment and mourning practices designed to keep the dead at bay, he postulates a universal fear of the"vampire/revenant." Such fear was most probably based on universal lack of knowledge and... (more)

Buried Alive: The Terrifying History Of Our Most Primal Fear

Buried Alive: The Terrifying History Of Our Most Primal Fear

by Jan Bondeson

Readers of Edgar Allan Poe's tales—just think of The Premature Burial —may comfort themselves with the notion that Poe must have exaggerated: surely people of the 1800s could not have been at risk of being buried alive? But such stories filled medical journals as well as fiction, and fear in the populace was high. It was speculated, from the number of skeletons found in horrific, contorted positions inside their... (more)

The Sutton Hoo ship burial: A handbookRupert Bruce-Mitford

The Sutton Hoo ship burial: A handbook

by Rupert Leo Scott Bruce-Mitford

Coroner's Journal

by Louis Cataldie

The frank and unvarnished memoir of a life spent stalking death in the Deep South. Baton Rouge is a little town with big-city problems. Rich with Creole history, colorful locals, and a strong sense of community, it's also the home of Napoleonic codes, stubborn cops, and a sometimes-troubled leadership. Baton Rouge-which literally means "Red Stick"-lives up to its bloody namesake. And after more than... (more)

Harry Potter: Book 6

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

by J. K. Rowling

The war against Voldemort is not going well; even the Muggles have been affected. Dumbledore is absent from Hogwarts for long stretches of time, and the Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses. And yet . . . As with all wars, life goes on. Sixth-year students learn to Apparate. Teenagers flirt and fight and fall in love. Harry receives some extraordinary help in Potions from the mysterious Half-Blood... (more)

Antigone

by Sophocles

Paul Woodruff's translation of one of Sophocles' most famous tragedies captures the dramatic and poetic intensity of the ancient Greek play without sacrificing accuracy. This edition also features an Introduction and annotations by the translator.

Stiff

The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

by Mary Roach

An oddly compelling, often hilarious forensic exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem.For two thousand years, cadaverssome willingly, some unwittinglyhave been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They've tested France's first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin,... (more)

The Codex

by Douglas Preston

"Greetings from the dead," declares Maxwell Broadbent on the videotape he left behind after his mysterious disappearance. A notorious treasure hunter and tomb robber, Broadbent accumulated over a half a billion dollars' worth of priceless art, gems, and artifacts before vanishing---along with his entire collection---from his mansion in New Mexico. At first, robbery is suspected, but the truth proves far stranger:... (more)

In an Antique Land

by Amitav Ghosh

Reprint of a classic novel that makes the reader political boundaries and cultural assumptions. Excellent on history,Egyptian and Indian culture. by the author of Shadow lines and Glass Palace.

Caring for the Dead: Your Final Act of Love

Caring for the Dead: Your Final Act of Love

by Lisa Carlson

This is a comprehensive guide for consumers making funeral arrangements with or without a funeral director. It contains detailed descriptions of the "tricks of the funeral trade", to avoid unwanted and overpriced goods and services, and how to file a complaint when subjected to unethical funeral home practices. It provides practical information on all aspects of death care, so that family, friends, and... (more)

The Last Summer of You and Me

by Ann Brashares

T he Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants author delivers her first novel for adults, a treacly tale about the tribulations a trio of longtime friends encounter. For as long as she can remember, 21-year-old Alice has spent summers on Fire Island with her parents and older sister, Riley. Riley, 24, is a beach lifeguard, more boyish in both looks and spirit than sweet, feminine Alice. An island neighbor and Riley's... (more)

Love Cemetery: Unburying the Secret History of Slaves

Love Cemetery: Unburying the Secret History of Slaves

by China Galland

"Love Cemetery" is the story of one woman trying to come to terms with racism - on both personal and public levels. When China Galland visited her childhood hometown in east Texas, she learned of an unmarked cemetery for slaves - Love Cemetery. Her ensuing quest to reclaim the ground, to mark it, unearths racial wounds that have never completely healed. Research into county historical records and interviews with... (more)

The Dark Before The Light At Dawn

by Vannessagrace

This book is riveting! You can actually imagine the settings, the moods, the expressions, and the depth of each character and situation. The characters are believable—you feel what they feel. The women in this book show great strength, each having their story of struggle and misfortune yet they maintain a great presence. It takes love for each of them to admit to past hurts and that same love... (more)

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Tags: burial

Stealing Lincoln's Body

by Thomas J. Craughwell