Customer Reviews

The Sacred Remains: American Attitudes Toward Death, 1799-1883

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So ran an advertisement in a Washington, DC directory in 1863.

Gary Laderman here provides readers a survey of one of the most interesting aspects of the first century of United States history: how they cared for their dead. Using many contemporary newspapers, journals, letters and books, Laderman also draws on some never before used sources, such as the terrific collections of Old Sturbridge Village and the American Antiquarian Society.

While this text is not for either the casual reader or the faint of heart, it is a thoroughly researched introduction to the development of the American funerary system. Focusing mainly on the developments surrounding the American Civil War, Laderman does an excellent job of putting much of the most essential information together in one place.

Where the author falls short is in his focus of Northern and middle class customs, leaving out the South both before and during the Civil War, with the notable exception of George Washington's funeral. As such, it could be more appropriately subtitled. The other area where Laderman would have been well served to have expanded upon is the preparations of the deceased for burial in the antebellum years. Two pages seems hardly enough.

The work will serve the historian, anthropologist, and Civil War enthusiast very well.

While I agree with another reviewer that the text is scholarly rather than "popular," if one wishes to read a book about death and embalming that is full of action and adventure, the reader should stick to Ann Rice.

I suspect that somewhere out there a college-level course is given to all would-be college professors,a course in the fine art of lecturing with the aim of putting all but the most strong-willed student to sleep..Likewise,I suspect that there is a further course,for these same would-be college professors on how to write the most sleep-inducing texts possible..Surely if there are such courses given,Professor Gary Laderman MUST have excelled at the latter one,inasmuchas as his book"The Sacred Remains"stands as one of the most dry,boring,waste-of-time reads that I have ever encountered...
The subject matter,"American attitudes toward death-1799-1883",while not exactly everyone's cup of tea,has nonetheless been dealt with better by a whole raft of earlier authors,writers who,unlike Laderman,have the reader in mind.."Popular"histories,on almost any subject,are usually frowned upon by the college-professor type of author..I don't know why this is,especially as it seems hard enough these days to get anyone to read anything beyond trashy novels,self-help books and get-rich-quick tomes..Making the material of one's book "live",making it interesting and easy to follow are the keys to succeeding at this task..One would think that a"teacher"might reasonably be expected to be able to do so,but,somehow,most such works fail...They are about as interesting to read as the telephone directory,and about as well written..
Laderman takes the subject of death and dying and submerges it in dry,boring text passages,often accentuated by unnecessary,three-dollar words..While he does scatter a selection of firsthand accounts about then-prevailing attitudes towards the beloved dead,or the funeral practices of the time,Laderman quickly swamps these often poingnant passages with his own overly-wordy,soperific text,thus deadening the whole effect,and leaving the reader on the point of sleep...
Used as a textbook in some colleges,Laderman's tome represents what is wrong with such works on all levels;They are VERY BADLY WRITTEN,they take often interesting data and bury it in an avalanche of boring text,and are written by people who have no talent for the task...
The old adage states;"Those who can,DO,and those who can't,TEACH"..Laderman's book is a prime example of the truth of this statement