The Obits: Annual 2012

by William McDonald (Editor), Pete Hamill (Foreword)

New

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

590 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2011

Reviews

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ironically, the obituaries for both Eddie Fisher and Elizabeth Taylor are in this volume.

And so many whose deaths I’d forgotten: James Arness, Barbara Billingsley, Tony Curtis, and Peter Falk. Lillian Jackson Braun. Geraldine Ferraro. And then the ones whose autograph I have: Bob Feller, Harmon Killebrew, Duke Snider, and Chuck Tanner.

And why is it that almost all the pro football players died from dementia? The NFL has ignored this problem way too long.

The longest obituary, unfortunately, went to “Osama Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden”. I refused to read it.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always loved epitaphs. My family wondered why I liked to wander around old cemeteries. Epitaphs- that is why. Today's epitaphs are obituaries. Thus, The Obits presents the epitaphs of people from August 2010 to July 2011. It is fascinating. Elizabeth Taylor, David Nelson, Ricky's brother, 'Danno' from Hawaii5-0. James MacArthur, J. Paul Getty III, a kidnap victim of the 70's, the list goes on. A few times I found myself saying, "I didn't know she was gone." Very interesting !!

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

You should have this book in your life. It's a collection of N.Y. Times obituaries from 2010 and 2011. It's fascinating to learn the details of the lives of people you know little or nothing about. Sure, Elizabeth Taylor and Osama bin Laden are here, and you'll learn interesting things about them, and maybe some of your personal favorites - Don Van Vliet, Peter Falk, Bruno S... But the real fun stuff: the man who built a model airplane that flew across the Atlantic when he was nearly blind and deaf in his seventies; the woman who carved life-size butter cows for the Iowa State Fair; the man who played Scottish bagpipes on the beach when the Allies landed at Normandy on D-Day. I learned so much wonderful stuff.

[Christa · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I mentioned to people I was reading this book, I would get a look of "that's nice but, why?" Instead of thinking of this as a book of people who died, I looked at it as a book of mini-biographies of people who have impacted our world for good or bad. While I enjoyed reading and getting the back story of lives of people I am quite familiar with, I enjoyed even more being introduced to the people who aren't as well known but had often a longer lasting impact on our lives.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, to say the least.