The Last Dance: Encountering Death and Dying (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Albert Lee Strickland (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The best-selling textbook in the field, The Last Dance offers an interdisciplinary approach to the study of death and dying. Integrating the experiential, scholarly, social, individual, emotional, and intellectual dimensions of death and dying, the seventh edition of this acclaimed text has been thoroughly revised to offer cutting-edge and comprehensive coverage of death studies. Together with its companion volumes, this new edition of The Last Dance provides solid grounding in theory and research, as well as practical application to students' lives.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 696 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 7 edition (February 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072920963
• ISBN-13: 978-0072920963
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #56,094 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 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]) "jcolatch" (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.

11 of 12 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.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Boilerplate plus, December 21, 2004

By	D. Becker (Albrightsville,PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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

For those readers who have not done much reading or thinking about death, this book offers an easy to read and thoughtful introduction to looking at death vis a vis topics. In addition, this book provides for the scaffolded reading experience by asking the reader many questions, summarizing the main points of chapters and providing resources for further exploration.
On the negative side is the fact that the topical approach is available elsewehere in other books on death and dying in more encyclopedia form and more complete form.
The authors seem to think that death isnt something that people wonder a lot about or should wonder a lot about the mysterium tremendum of death. The illustrations in the book are sans context and images or illustrations on death are important in their own right for exploration as numerous authors like Robert Lifton have pointed to the importance of images when contemplating mortality. Furthermore the authors could have and should have indicated what complete exploration of death might be-surely the topical approach is just one amongst many approaches to death. So in this regard there is a disconnect between death as a subject of interest to be held at arms length and death as a highly personal vital concern that transcends topical approach.
In concluding if looking at death from arms length as a subject of interest is what youre into this book provides a good enough scaffolded reading experience. If you want something to be or more personal value in dealing or orienting to your own mortality then this wont fit the bill.