Customer Reviews

Where Are They Buried?: How Did They Die? Fitting Ends and Final Resting Places of the Famous, Infamous, and Noteworthy

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book attempts to go where many others have gone before and manages to do a very good job... for a good quality hardcover book. It contains the locations of approximately 500 celebrity graves and is just a lot of fun.
The book is arranged by type of celebrity (sports figures, singers, authors, etc.). For each personality the author Tod Benoit provides a date of birth and death, a lengthy biography which summarizes pertinent facts concerning his subject's life, the manner in which his subject died, the burial location and/or the method of disposal, instructions as to how to find the cemetery using main highways and local streets, and explicit instructions for finding gravesites.
Aside from being just packed with good info, Tod Benoit has a wonderfully wry sense of humor which is good because it takes a lot of the sting out of a grim subject like death. I particularly enjoyed his take on finding grave locations at Forest Lawn in Glendale CA and his not-too-subtle suggestions for averting cemetery security. This man is hysterical!
Another very enjoyable section could have been subtitled "Tod's Practical And Sometimes Whacky Methods Used To Get Information". Odd as my subtitle sounds, the author's suggestions are quite inventive and I applaud him for his overall creativity. In truth, I can really see them being quite effective. This is probably because I've tried some, and will try the ones I haven't.
At the date of publication, all the information provided regarding grave locations was correct with the exception of Lucille Ball who was recently moved to a cemetery in Jamestown NY. There were a few biographical errors which I caught, but nothing that would interfer with the general pleasure I derived from this book.
Now please buy this book, so he'll write another one. It is that good.

This book not only contains the whereabouts of many 'famous' people's graves, but it has thumbnail boigraphies of the people in question.

For a casual reader, it can be picked up and a few sections can be read easily at one sitting. For the hard-core reader, it can be like 'bubblegum for the brain' and be an entertaining read.

Couldn't give it any higher than four stars. Like a reviewer states below, there is some misinformation in the book. Minor to be sure, but it is still an entertaining read.

I have never, ever written a review before, but this book was such a terrific read that I just had to say something. Tod Benoit has found a unique subject and presented it in a fascinating format. The title caught my eye immediately and from the first page, I was hooked. The biographies were interesting and the grave directions were so precise that I may just spend my next free afternoon checking out the cemeteries in my own neighborhood. Who needs Beverly Hills? I can now claim several celebrities within a 4 mile radius of my home(of course, they're all dead, but what the heck). I would definitely recommend this book not only for the subject matter, but for the easy-going style in which it was written. I did find one huge biographical mistake, but I'll let future readers find it. Get this book...you won't be sorry.

This book is packed with information and it's the most interesting read I've found in a long time. The author makes it easy to find all the cemeteries and exact grave locations of hundreds of celebrities, plus his sardonic wit and amusing writing style entertain. Tod has really gone out of his way to unearth (no pun intended) many nuggets of our heroes - and anti heroes! I love it!!

This book is totally cool. The author is very witty and he shares alot of interesting tidbits about each famous person - and there are 450 entries in the book, someone for everyone. If they had a particulalry interesting death, he explains those circumstances but, if they just croaked from cancer or something he just moves along and doesn't try to make something of nothing. Finally, he lends very concise directions to every cemetery and to the exact grave once you've arrived at the cemetery.

I travel for work alot and I've been bringing this with me wherever I go. I've visited Joe DiMaggio, Judy Garland, Charles Schulz, Jackie Gleason, Jimi Hendrix, John Gotti, Lee Harvey Oswald, Bette Davis and many others with the help of this book.

It's a great read and it's really useful too. Totally cool.

Where Are They Buried? How Did They Die?: Fitting Ends And Final Resting Places Of The Famous, Infamous, And Noteworthy is a unique anthology of information concerning the deaths and final resting places of more than 450 memorable historical and cultural figures ranging from Elvis Presley and River Phoenix, to John Dillinger, Thomas Edison, Ernest Hemmingway, Bob Marley, and 444 more! Each famous individual's demise is succinctly recounted, and accompanied by precise directions for reaching the cemetery where they are buried, as well as relevant information on paying memorial respect to that particular person's gravesite.

A great book for those of us who are fascinated by the "permanent addresses" of famous people who have passed on.
The book was extensively researched and has many photos of famous grave sites.

This book is very well researched and written.I like the format: a brief history of the person and then how he/she died and where is buried.I read for 20 minutes every night before going to sleep.Very good work and a great reading.Kudos to the author for his comments on the killer of Medgar Evers.

Tod Benoit has put together a wonderful little book that would be interesting to anyone.He tells us what happened to 450 well known people in their final years,how they died ,where they are buried and how to locate their graves.He covers people from all walks of life and no matter who picks up this book they are sure to find someone who they often wondered "what ever became of them"...and now they'll know.
I have been fascinated with Graveyards ever since I was a kid.Yes ,they can be macabre places,if you let them be;but if you are the curious type,they can be very interesting.
Tod tells us a bit about these people ,but the real interesting thing would be to visit these sites.Since they are scattered all over the country,that would be a monumental task.However; a visit to any graveyard can be an experience.
When I was a teen in the Army Cadets and on convoys,the popular place to set up the field kitchen was in the parking lot of small country churches. It was quiet,nobody aound and generally an old graveyard nearby.After eating, I would take a stroll,read some of the stones,and invariably find something of interest. You will find things like a whole family being wiped out by things like the Spanisk Flu in 1917. The grave of a soldier who sacrificed his life in some far off war or in the Civil War.Maybe a stone of some old fellow who reached the grand old age of 95 years,who had 5 wives along the way,and they are laying there by his side.
There is just no end to what you can stumble across;and whenever I get a chance and have a little time to spare ;I am never disappointed in what I come across.
I spend a lot of time Birdwatching all over the country and one often end up in a graveyard .It is those little ones way off on the back roads that hold the surprises.
For instance,when I was in Galway,Ireland,a few years ago,I had a morning to myself. I decided to check out an old graveyard in the center of town.I met up with a very popular sports figure who was on the cemetary restoration board of directors . He gave me a tour of the graveyard and showed me a plaque as a memorial to 300 sailors from the Spanish Armada who scrambled ashore after their ships had wrecked on the Irish coast.They were captured and all murdered by the British. The site was originally a monestary, but the British destroyed it and all the monk's graves had been covered up by a garbage dump,but now had been restored. He also pointed out a huge Celtic Cross that was made for the World's Fair in Chicago.After the fair it was shipped back to Ireland and erected as a family monument. I noticed that there was an iron bar,hasp and lock on one of those crypts a little larger than a coffin sitting on the ground. When I asked why the locked opening;he explained that there was not a body inside the crypt.Actually, there was a crypt for 6 below grade and this was an opening to the stairs.You learn something every day.
With the age of Internet,a search of many well known personalities will give their final demise and gravesites.Also many large cemetaries have books written by them covering gravesites and information of famous persons interred there.
Overall, a great book and shows how interesting graveyards and gravesites can be.

For those who find cemeteries a fascinating study in history, for those interested in the lives and (more importantly) deaths of the famous and infamous and for those who enjoy the occasional mini-exploration, "Where are They Buried?" is a wonderful read. Biographies can tell you about a life and death and may even tell you where the subject is laid to rest. Few, however, will give the reader step-by-step (literally) directions to the subject's resting place. I can't wait for volume two! A great companion on your next vacation, you may be surprised who you meet along the way. Buy the book and enjoy the trip.