Amazon.com: When We Die : The Science, Culture, and Rituals of Death: Cedric Mims: Books

Amazon.com
We'd like to think that only depressed teenage poets and heavy-metal gods are obsessed with death, but let's face it--we're all interested in the great equalizer. Microbiologist and world traveler Cedric Mims writes, "We should accept it and talk about it more than we do--as we have done with the once taboo subject of sex." To that end, he has written When We Die: The Science, Culture, and Rituals of Death and started the conversation with wit and grace. Covering the physical facts and metaphysical beliefs concerning our last exits, Mims shows us that not all is dark and dreary, or even peaceful, on "the other side."

The broad, largely untouched topic offers much fascinating material: cannibalism, organ transplants, mummification, and euthanasia all receive their due. Mims explores questions such as "Are corpses dangerous?" and "Who owns a dead body?" from many perspectives, drawing on his extensive reading and travels to create an intricate mosaic of answers. Though written almanac-style, with facts and stories loosely grouped into chapters, When We Die still possesses a cohesion that makes reading straight through as much fun as browsing. Taking care neither to offend nor to give in to the rigorous solemnity normally weighing on such discussions, Mims takes death out of the goth closet, dusts off the romance, and shows us how it really is. --Rob Lightner --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Nearly encyclopedic in scope, this superb investigation of death in its medical, social, cultural and spiritual aspects will serve as a consciousness-raising tool for anyone who wants to come to terms with the inevitability of his or her eventual demise. Mims, a microbiologist and former professor at Guys Hospital in London, crams an enormous wealth of information into his concise yet meaningful coverage of a multitude of topics: cemeteries, ghosts, murder, capital punishment, crucifixion, religious relics, infanticide, abortion, mass extinctions of species and so forth. He digs up mind-boggling facts and figures: Every hour, 80-100 people commit suicide; auto safety researchers in Germany use corpses in car-crash tests; 43% of all deaths in the developing world result from largely curable infectious or parasitic diseases. Yet this is no mere compendium of data, thanks to Mims's lively writing style, impressive scholarship and unusually matter-of-fact approach. His survey of funeral rituals?from the austere, cheap nocturnal rites of the Puritans to the Dyaks of Borneo, who regaled a dead chief with food and drink?treats burial practices as a mirror of religious, social and economic history. He gives a blow-by-blow account of the aging process, explains death as nature's strategy to ensure evolutionary change and unravels the ethical, legal and medical issues surrounding euthanasia and organ transplants. Chapters on the exposure and cremation of corpses, cannibalism, medical cadavers and mummification (in Egypt, Peru, the Canary Islands) may prove unsettling for some, yet they are written with consummate tact and a broad historical perspective. Although Mims accepts death as permanent personal extinction, he surveys beliefs in an afterlife as well as near-death experiences. This remarkable tome is one of the best introductions available to a difficult topic. Eight pages of b&w photos.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

When We Die : The Science, Culture, and Rituals of Death (Paperback)

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought