I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when reading going into this book, but I was pleasantly surprised by it. I loved how Greg Melville walks through history in the context of cemeteries. As someone whose idea of a good time is wandering an old graveyard, I was happy to see Melville speak of them with the utmost respect. Something was comforting about how he wrote about them and honest about how he wrote about the history. I appreciate that Melville didn’t sugarcoat or whitewash history to make America or other colonialist nations look better. This is a book I will want on my shelves to refer back to for exciting conversation starters.

This is such an interesting book. Perfect for the lover of history and of odd knowledge, it would make a great gift and would also be a great non traditional way to study American history in the classroom or homeschool.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Over My Dead Body" covers a lot of topics, from the history of cemeteries in America, through the rise of the horrifyingly named Death Industrial Complex, to how said industry interacts with sustainability/environmental concerns.

For a nonfiction novel about a fairly grim subject, the writing in OMDB is accessible and quick, and I think many readers will be able to enjoy it. The chapters almost function more as a collection of essays that all revolve around the main topic, more than a linear progression of a narrative. While this is a fairly common approach to nonfiction, it felt a bit disjointed to me (hence the 3-star).

As someone who works in a history / genealogy department of a library, this book caught my eye right away. I've always been fascinated by cemeteries and how we are required to boil entire lives down to what fits on a gravestone.

I learned a lot from this book. I had no idea there were so many different schools of thought on death and burial as time progressed. The book is also part history lesson, as when we learn about the Chinese immigrants laid to rest in "boot hill" graveyards and the racial segregation of many graveyards. Science and conservation are also learned when "natural" burials are discussed.

Overall, an interesting read and I learned much more about burial considerations and processes than I had expected!

As a genealogist and lover of history, I have always had a fascination with cemeteries and graveyards. My mother and I visit local cemeteries to search out long lost relatives, and plant flowers on graves of our known ancestors. On trips, I have often steered my husband into locations such as Gettysburg National Cemetery, Arlington National Cemetery, Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax where Titanic victims were buried, and Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta where Margaret Mitchell was buried. I thought I was the only one to do this until I read Over My Dead Body by Greg Melville. Mr. Melville delves into his admiration for the sanctuaries of the non-living.

Viewed as not just a property with dead people in it, Melville explains how graveyards, later titled cemeteries, influenced design and layouts for public parks and open spaces. He also discusses what a cemetery can tell us about the period of history in which it was established, simply by looking at the landscaping, architecture, and artwork of monuments. Grave markers can indicate how prominent a particular person or family was in the area, and can also leave a message to the living about the deceased by etching certain symbols onto the stone.

What I found particularly fascinating was the history of how and when embalming began, and how this "invention," so to speak, shaped the death industrial complex since the American Civil War. I had never really thought about the industry side of death before, and it made me pause to rethink my future burial plans.

Greg does a really nice job of selecting different types of cemeteries to discuss in his book, from crematoriums to centuries' old sites, to newly established natural burial spots. I love books where I learn something new and challenges me to rethink positions or stances. This book did just that, and made a subject matter some may find off-putting into a light-hearted read with some humor sprinkled in. I recommend this book to anyone interested in history, anthropology, or travel.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

Fans of The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green will absolutely ADORE this book. Not surprisingly, since both authors are alums of Kenyon College, both books are written with so much heart and attention to detail that even if cemeteries aren’t your favorite topic, they will be by the time you’re done with this book.

Each chapter, centered around a different cemetery and piece funerary history, was the perfect length to read in a sitting, and that made the book compulsively readable. I was always looking forward to when I could read the next part.

Like I mentioned above, the heart and obvious amount of care that went into this book was palpable and made the experience all the more enjoyable. This will be among my favorite nonfiction books of the year for sure.

When I was a girl, we kids would bike ride through a local cemetery where pheasant could still be seen. My dad would drive us to another local cemetery to feed the ducks in the duck pond. These were places with lots of trees and natural beauty, and white headstones, some with towering statues. I have always enjoyed going to cemeteries in the towns we have lived in. And as a genealogist, we have visited cemeteries to discover our family history. The old ones hold beautiful headstones and arching trees. Newer ones have plaques in the ground, all open grassland.

Once, when my son was a preschooler, he asked to go to a cemetery we often passed. He asked me to read the headstones. Many were designated as veterans. Some were entire families who died at the same time. As we went back to the car, I asked him what he learned. “Don’t never ever ever ever die,” he told me.

That’s the problem. We do all die. This pandemic has brought the reality closer these past few years. At this writing, 1 out of every 316 people in my county have died of Covid-19. Add the fact that I turned 70 this summer, and last things are often in the back of my mind.

I used to want to be cremated. But what I want now is a burial without chemicals and vaults, to decay and return to the cycle of life as soon as possible. That’s eternity. I don’t need a plot of land and a monument that will be meaningless in a generation. I want to be a tree, a flower, a blade of grass.

Of course, our earliest burials did consist of placement in the ground, with artifacts from life, or our bodies were exposed to the elements and the bones collected and buried.

How did the elaborate Death Industrial Complex arise? What is the environmental impact of putting millions of galleons of chemicals in the ground, or the chemicals and fuel needed to maintain a plush carpet of grass? How we remember the dead has changed over millennia. We have erected monumental structures and we scatter ashes in beloved locations. What history is obscured or revealed in cemeteries, those hidden and those laid out like theme parks?

Over My Dead Body may be about a grim subject, but it’s an enjoyable read, filled with personal anecdotes and historical and sociological insight. Greg Melville takes us to the earliest graveyards at Jamestown and Plymouth, and to seek unmarked slave graveyards and the destroyed Native American burial grounds. He shows how innovations in cemeteries impacted society and how pandemics and war forced new practices. Embalming arose to preserve the bodies of the Civil War dead so they could be returned for burial in their hometown. The need for a Jewish burial ground impacted the inclusion of religious freedom in the Bill of Rights. Transcendentalists found inspiration in Sleepy Hollow cemetery, the first protected natural habitat.

Melville shares the difficulty of our personal choices for our remains, the tug between sustainability and claiming a place in the world were we will be remembered.

It’s an enjoyable, sometimes devastating,, and always enlightening read.

I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

I really enjoyed this! I thought that the subject matter, while on the darker side, was handled really well. I also thought that it was really interesting- I didn't go in thinking I knew a lot about the dead and cemeteries, but I honestly learned a lot more than I ever thought. I really recommend this, especially if you like Mary Roach or other darker nonfiction.

I found this book to be twofold- on the one hand it’s about the history of burial practices worldwide with a later focus on America, something as a student of American history I quite honestly hadn’t yet considered outside of the graveyards of New Orleans. Of course I found the chapter about Jamestown most interesting because I’ve been there and could imagine it. Monticello’s story is heartbreaking. Tombstone’s graveyard is now on my list of things I need to see. Learning about different cemetery styles through time was fascinating but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the author missed a gem of a cemetery by not exploring Mt. Hope in Rochester, NY. It is quite literally a pilgrimage site for women who visit Susan B. Anthony on election days and any day where they feel threatened by government policy. Google photos of her grave and you will find pictures where her headstone is covered in “I voted” stickers. The grave of Frederick Douglass is another that many make a point to visit. The history there is much richer than cemeteries in California which are populated by dead famous people.

The second part of the book, which I do feel could have been expanded on but was immensely interesting, is about the environmental factors of our two main practices- embalming and burial, and cremation. Being somewhat young it’s not something I’d seriously considered until reading this book. I don’t want to embalmed and buried because what purpose does that serve? No one will visit as my family line is dying out. Trying to decide between a cemetery where I grew up versus a cemetery in whatever city I’m in when I die would be impossible. Being cremated is a scary thought to me even though logically I know I won’t feel a thing. Although the thought of being cremated and stored in a book shaped urn in a library of dead was right up my alley. Bottom line, more environmentally friendly options are needed as the amount of pollution being dumped into the ground and thus our water supply through embalming is unacceptable and the amount of energy need and air pollution created by cremation is not much better. The book briefly touches on some other options but this is the part where I would have liked expanded information.

Overall this is a great little primer on burial history, something the author has proven to me to overlooked in history and architecture. I’m not sure I buy his argument that cemeteries we’re the first amusement park, but this book is great and I recommend it to all those who love history and the macabre.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Over My Dead Body.

First, great title. I love it!

Second, this was a fascinating look at some of the most famous cemeteries in the US.

Not surprisingly, racism and religious intolerance isn't lurking far behind the dark histories behind the cemeteries the author features in his book.

I enjoyed the historical anecdotes and how cemeteries today were architectural and historical achievements and paved the way for the booming and grossly expensive death has become now.

I also appreciated the author's focus on sustainability, land use, and what it truly means to be memorialized. Like everything else in our lives, life after death goes digital.

Like the wonderful sentence he ends the book with, (I'm paraphrasing here) what happens to our bodies after death is not as important as how we life our life.

This is a great travelogue and overview of the histories of some American cemeteries. It’s engaging and the author is a great storyteller who also drops fun statistics such as there are ten times as many cemeteries in the US than there are Starbucks and eight times as many cemeteries as McDonalds. I enjoyed his personal commentary and his experience working a summer job at Shawsheen Cemetery.

The author argues, “every gravestone seems like a mystery waiting to be solved.” I cannot say how much that resonates with y own experience. “Every cemetery has a story. Yet these treasure troves of Americana are almost completely overlooked in historical record.” He points out how we can do better and how many groups are working to spotlight disparities in resources.

He incorporated US history with the history of cemeteries in the US, and he highlighted individuals and cemeteries through his stories. I personally enjoyed the numerous literary connections (eg Emerson and Thoreau’s connection to Concord’s Sleepy Hollow cemetery as the first conservation project; and, Walt Whitman’s connection to Green-Wood).

Overall it’s a great read that I will recommend to others, especially those new to considering the topic, in hopes that it will pique their interests in cemeteries.

I really enjoyed this book! For years I've written blog articles and columns by picking a random grave at the genealogy site, Find-A-Grave, usually writing about the person, but sometimes writing about the cemetery itself. Anyone interested in history and/or genealogy would enjoy this look at the hidden history behind some of America's oldest and most famous cemeteries.

“What’s most sacred in this world isn’t what happens to our bodies after death, but how and for whom we live our lives.”

*****

Thanks once again to @netgalley and to @abramsbooks for this ARC. Make sure to look for this one when it comes out on October 4th!

*****

This book was such a pleasant surprise for me, since most of the non-fiction I read tends to be true crime. It’s informative sure, I’m pretty sure my family, friends and coworkers are thoroughly annoyed with the amount of “fun facts” I’ve been throwing at them this past week

But what Melville manages to pull off really well, and what’s so important in a book this inherently morbid, is that it’s also a shockingly fun read!

I especially enjoyed the Gettysburg chapter, since I’ve only been kind of a history nerd and completely fascinated with that battle in particular.

This is one I’ve already been recommending to quite a few friends, and I’ll probably end up buying multiple copies for presents once it’s actually released.

🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

READ THIS BOOK
If the NY Times doesn't put this on their best seller list I will be shocked. This is hands down the most entertaining, enlightening, interesting book I have read in a long time.
The author takes you on a historical tour of how we bury our dead. Each chapter visits another grave site with incredible, unbelievable stories. The author does a great job researching and telling the history of each grave site and its significance.
This book was so fascinating I couldn't stop thinking about it or talking about it to anyone within earshot.
You cannot miss with this book. It is not gory or morose, but it does show how we don't always treat everyone equally - even in death.
It is a fascinating read. Don't miss out on this one.

It was in high school that author Greg Melville first leaned into his curiosity around the history of cemeteries and the great mysteries that often surround the burying of our dead. Working for a local cemetery, what began as the simple task of mowing its vast grounds became a lifelong curiosity for Melville about how, why, and where we bury our dead.

With "Over My Dead Body: Unearthing the Hidden History of America's Cemeteries," Melville gives light to his lifelong curiosity and an adult lifetime spent visiting some of America's most historic and iconic cemeteries ranging from Concord, Massachusetts's Sleepy Hollow Cemetery to the 1607 Burial Ground in Jamestowne, Virginia to Arlington National Cemetery to quite a few more.

I must confess that I found "Over My Dead Body" to be more travelogue than actual historical non-fiction, though Melville has certainly done his research in sharing the ways in which burial has often shaped America's culture, politics, and social values. It's likely not surprising that the author of such books as "Greasy Rider" and "101 Best Outdoor Towns" would be able to make such tales as are present here so completely engaging. While it is not the case, "Over My Dead Body" often reads as if it is a road trip of American cemeteries. Instead, it is simply Melville's own reflections upon his journeys through an estimated 18 of America's most influential and historical cemeteries ranging from examining their places in history to looking at the ways in which burial has changed throughout time including the fact that cremation is now outpacing burials in popularity, though even cremation isn't that particularly good for the environment, along with such important historical considerations as land use, sustainability, and burial practices.

Melville's personality comes alive in these pages, his friends and family often tolerating but not actually embracing his somewhat morbid curiosity that seems to show up nearly every time Melville finds himself in a new town where there's a new cemetery that warrants his consideration. Melville writes with great intelligence, humor, insight, and humanity.

There were times I craved a deeper dive into historical practices around these specific cemeteries. As Melville would share about extraneous historical factors, I found my own curiosity unsatisfied about the history of monuments and tombs, stories about specific graves, and the actual history of these remarkable cemeteries.

I mean, for example, how do you write about Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and not actually mention the iconic media representation of Sleepy Hollow?

At times, Melville goes for universal tales rather than the more intimate and personal tales of a cemetery's history. Both are important, of course, but I longed for a bit more sense of each cemetery's actual personality within its community. At times, Melville goes there - for example, there's a palpable sense of the presence of Jamestowne's 1607 burial ground that lies amidst a common tourist area. However, other times I was more entertained than truly engaged.

As someone who has also worked at a cemetery, Indianapolis's historic landmark Crown Hill Cemetery, I still deeply appreciated and enjoyed Melville's acute awareness of the importance cemetery and an almost celebratory approach toward each cemetery's presence as a historical marker and cultural icon. "Over My Dead Body" could easily have been a dry read - it is most certainly not. Instead, it's lively with Melville's own experiences supplemented by extensive research about the history around cemeteries and historical events that helped shape American cemeteries.

"Over My Dead Body" was a slow read for me precisely because it demanded my attention to detail and to Melville's reverence for its purpose. While perhaps not quite tapping into my every hope for the book, Greg Melville's "Over My Dead Body" is still a sublime weaving together of travelogue meets roadside curiosity meets historical marker. Those who surrender themselves to it will be richly rewarded.

Author Greg Melville writes of ancient burial sites around the world and then focuses on America. Beginning with his summer job mowing lawns at a cemetery as a young man in Massachusetts, he discusses how cemeteries became our first public art museums and parks. Also, how they offer evidence of the removal of Indigenous people, of slavery, of segregation of Jews and Blacks, and how cemeteries bred greed and corruption into a multi-billion-dollar industry that is not entirely about easing grief. Most of the graveyards he writes about are on the eastern coast and California. For example, the burial markers at Burial Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts date back from the late 1600s to the 1950s with skulls and grim reapers that turn to angels and elaborate more cheerful designs as views within religions changed. He discusses a Colonial Jewish Burial Ground in Rhode Island that was established in 1677 that has inscriptions in English, Spanish and Portuguese and an almost extinct Judeo-Spanish language known as Ladino. His chapter on Monticello discusses the finding of an African American Graveyard in 2001 that contains about 40 enslaved people that had disappeared from history. The Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts is a turning point in that cemeteries were being made outside of the cities as space ran out and landscaped architecture became more of the norm. They featured pathways for walking in the woods and gardens and places for a family to sit and nowadays to jog. The civil war saw another change with the making of national military cemeteries for fallen soldiers, such as at Gettysburg consecrated with Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and the making of Arlington. He then discusses several more cemeteries with fascinating detail. At the end he gives information that actually made me a little sad, mad, and more aware. One company produces 45% of all caskets in America, hard during a pandemic, and brings in 2.5 billion in annual revenue. Unfortunately, burials can include toxic embalming fluid, which includes gallons of formaldehyde, tons of metal and concrete and cremation, has toxins as well. I found myself pondering my own funeral and how green I can be and not wipe out my life savings and still pay for elder care expenses. However, when I am traveling and there is a burial ground or cemetery near the motel or even a restaurant, I and my passengers will stretch our legs in a walk through it and also ponder. I look at the art or non-art on the markers or urns and feel sadness when one whole family seems to have died in a brief period of time and remind myself that saying farewell is an ancient act even done by animals and should be honored. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, ABRAMS and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Very informative, interesting and full of details I wouldn’t expect. I enjoyed reading facts and interesting details about the history.

We fear death, yet we are endlessly fascinated by it. Melville’s interest in how we treat our dead began during a college summer job when he worked at his hometown cemetery, and he shares that passion with a nation wide journey to the eternal resting places of Americans. Victorians viewed their cemeteries, not just as burial grounds, but as meticulously landscaped parks and they have been celebrated in art and literature for centuries. Today, burials are being outpaced by cremation, largely due to the expense of an old fashioned committal. Melville also looks at some of the newer, more environmentally friendly ways to shuffle off this mortal coil, I myself, fancy becoming a tree

This book took me by surprise. i suspected that I was in for something special when i requested this one, but I had no idea how special it would be. Interesting, well researched and written.