A Wonderful Life: 50 Eulogies to Lift the Spirit

by Cyrus Copeland (Editor)

The lives of the world’s greatest contributors to arts, politics, sports, and letters are celebrated with wit, humor, and reverence by their equally famous friends,
relatives, and peers.

Here are fifty eulogies, fond remembrances of the twentieth century’s best and

World Martin Luther King Jr. honored by Robert Kennedy, Mahatma Gandhi by Jawaharlal Nehru

Movie Joan Crawford remembered by director George Cukor, Orson Welles by Charlton Heston

Media Katharine Graham celebrated by Ben Bradlee, Edward R.Murrow by Charles Kuralt

John Belushi by Dan Aykroyd, Bob Hope by Larry Gelbart

Composers and Jerry Garcia by Robert Hunter, Leonard Bernstein by Ned Rorem

Mickey Mantle by Bob Costas, Arthur Ashe by Douglas Wilder

In these moving and personal tributes, we see the true personalities of these fifty remarkable people, shadings of character usually hidden from the spotlight.

296 pages, Hardcover

First published May 12, 2006

Reviews

[Betsy Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not even sure why I picked this book up, months ago, beyond the fact that of course all things death fascinate me. So this book can be considered a treatise on grief, loss, and a number of other feelings and emotions that are evoked when people die - famous or otherwise. A collection of beautiful words about my favorite subject.

[Jenny Wiley]

wonderful eulogies. Got to learn more about those eulogized

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book becuase my friend Fr. Michael Duffy, ofm is the friar who gave the eulogy for Fr. Mychal Judge, the Franciscan priest and FDNY chaplain who died in the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. But really, what a neat collection.

I learned things about celebrities that I would never have known. I "met" a few who were famous in their circles but unknown to me. I read stories of people who embodied control and others who were out of control, but always from the heart-felt perspective of someone who loved, respected, and cared for them.

And, not surprisingly, it's made me think a bit about how I live my life, who I am, and how I hope to be remembered. Not bad for a book of essays!

[Lia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed some of the recollections of speakers in this book, but others were uninteresting/uninspiring to me. I had no clue who a number of people were. I liked that Copeland listed timelines of the deceaseds' lives following each eulogy, and I learned more about people I am familiar with along with being introduced to past influential people I had never heard of. The segments are divided into different categories like "Sports" and "Entertainers". It is an easy bedside read before hitting the lights.