The Last Dance: Encountering Death and Dying [Hardcover]

Lynne Ann DeSpelder (Author), Albert Lee Strickland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 18, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0767421620 | ISBN-13: 978-0767421621 | Edition: 6

Widely recognized as the best-selling textbook in the field, The Last Dance: Encountering Death and Dying, 6th Editionis an interdisciplinary introduction to death, dying, and bereavement. No prerequisite courses are necessary for students to appreciate the text's comprehensive treatment, sensitive writing, and unbiased presentation.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 672 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 6 edition (July 18, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767421620
• ISBN-13: 978-0767421621
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #228,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a wonderfully written and organized text that students will hold on to and not sell after reading it!, November 11, 1998

By 

John Colatch([e-mail]) (Meadville, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Dance: Encountering Death and Dying (Hardcover)

I will be using The Last Dance for the third year in a course I teach on Death and Dying in Western Culture. This text does a marvelous job of addressing the socio-cultural aspects of death in America and the world. The chapter on suicide is both helpful and haunting. There are so many excellent illustrations and photographs in this book that it really comes alive for the students. It is clear that the authors are very familiar with their subject matter, and that they care very much about those who read this book. I cannot imagine a better general text on the subject of death and dying.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent, January 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last Dance: Encountering Death and Dying (Hardcover)

This book accomplishes a rare feat--appealing to those who would use it as a teaching guide but also so readable that the average reader will find it fascinating and invaluable. It is packed with illustrations as well as solid advice and history--from ancient funeral practices to today's arguments on assisted suicide. In between is every conceivable question and answer you could want on the subject of dying and death.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ".for those curious what books the professionals study about death, this is your ticket to the secret knowledge" ~JC Angelcraft, May 17, 2008

By 

JC Angelcraft "Joe" (Orange County, Mazatlan, Durango, Guadalajara) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Dance: Encountering Death and Dying (Hardcover)

I have the third and seventh editions of this book and not surprisingly there is not much change. In their treatise on death, Authors Bruce and Dorothy DeSpelder offer an interesting glimpse into the multicultural world of death.

Developmentally speaking the authors take us through phases that humans experience and how they interpret death at each phase in the early life cycle. From infancy and toddlerhood, to early and middle childhood, we learn how the ever evolving concept of death changes within us until our schema matures.

The authors do a good job pointing out ever vital sociocultural factors that influence our understanding of death bringing to forefront how the agents of socialization such as the family unit, our peers and colleagues, the mass media and children's literature and Religion play in shaping the views that we hold on death.

What I found most interesting were the Cross cultural and Historical perspectives on death especially the postulations of the early primitive cultures that have in effect given us a good part of our mythology of death. Native American, African, Mexican, Asian, and Celtic death traditions are featured and expounded upon in small but satisfying detail.

The effect of death as reflected through Healthcare Systems involving critical issues such as how to be with some one who is dying, modern health the its institutions that care for the dying were informative. More critical are chapters that deal with issues involving such matters as how best to deal with children who are facing the reality of a life threatening illness with lessons and valuable advice on helping both children and adults in coping with terminal illness and loss.
The chapter on end of life issues and decisions covers such areas as informed consent, advanced directives, and matters of probate. It elucidates well on the dynamics that encompass the Caregiver-Patient Relationship such as responsibilities and ethical issues involved when disclosing a life threatening diagnosis and those involved when a person chooses to die.

I feel that most important part of this book is how it deals with understanding the experience of loss. It compares and contrasts the mental verses the emotional response of grief and mourning and carefully and responsibly explains the course of grief in simple and easy to understand terms. The chapter also provides models of grief each of which offer forth their own interpretations involving the tasks of mourning. For those who are pursuing a career in the helping services this book will most likely be required post graduate reading. However for those are curious what books we professionals study about death, this is your ticket to the secret knowledge and also the keys to the gates of understanding on how this subject is taught at the graduate level in Universities worldwide.