The American Way of Death Revisited

Only the scathing wit and searching intelligence of Jessica Mitford could turn an expos of the American funeral industry into a book that is at once deadly serious and side-splittingly funny. When first published in 1963, this landmark of investigative journalism became a runaway bestseller and resulted in legislation to protect grieving families from the unscrupulous sales practices of those in the dismal trade.

Just before her death in 1996, Mitford thoroughly revised and updated her classic study. The American Way of Death Revisited confronts new trends, including the success of the profession's lobbyists in Washington, inflated cremation costs, the telemarketing of pay-in-advance graves, and the effects of monopolies in a death-care industry now dominated by multinational corporations. With its hard-nosed consumer activism and a satiric vision out of Evelyn Waugh's novel The Loved One, The American Way of Death Revisited will not fail to inform, delight, and disturb.

Brilliant--hilarious. . . . A must-read for anyone planning to throw a funeral in their lifetime.--New York Post

Witty and penetrating--it speaks the truth.--The Washington Post

Author: Jessica Mitford
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 01/04/2000
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.54lbs
Size: 7.98h x 5.22w x 0.69d
ISBN13: 9780679771869
ISBN10: 0679771867
BISAC Categories:
- Social Science | Death & Dying
- Business & Economics | Industries | General
- Social Science | Customs & Traditions

About the Author
Jessica Mitford--of the notorious Mitford clan--was one of the most celebrated muckraking journalists of our time. Among her books are Daughters and Rebels, The Trial of Dr. Spock, and Poison Penmanship: The Gentle Art of Muckraking. Until her death in 1996, she lived in Oakland, California, with her husband, the labor lawyer Robert Treuhaft.