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Thinker, Failure, Soldier, Jailer
A collection of 365 entertaining and fascinating obituaries from the collection of the UK's "The Daily Telegraph". No spoilers here. You know everyone has ended up dead!
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
586 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 31, 2022
Some entertaining obituaries. A whole variety of the great and good and the bad and truly awful.
However, this is the Daily Telegraph, so it loves minor aristocracy. It loves cads and bounders who were constantly drunk and obviously deeply unpleasant to live with but are held up as having the sort of wild life we would all love to have. Upper Middle class, ex-army who treat those beneath the, with disdain and worse, are described as “kind”. Being unpleasant to the lower orders is just to be expected and praised. Racists like Jan Smuts are “great statesmen”. The only people of colour to be included are monsters like Amin and Bokassa.
It has been a generally fun read over the year, but you have to hold your nose at times.
However, this is the Daily Telegraph, so it loves minor aristocracy. It loves cads and bounders who were constantly drunk and obviously deeply unpleasant to live with but are held up as having the sort of wild life we would all love to have. Upper Middle class, ex-army who treat those beneath the, with disdain and worse, are described as “kind”. Being unpleasant to the lower orders is just to be expected and praised. Racists like Jan Smuts are “great statesmen”. The only people of colour to be included are monsters like Amin and Bokassa.
It has been a generally fun read over the year, but you have to hold your nose at times.
December 23, 2025
I do enjoy reading about different people and the lives they've lived, and obituaries are such a quick and easy way of doing so.
I learnt more about some people I knew of and many I didn't.
I will admit, though, I started to skip the cricket players when the obituaries spent several pages going over their cricket scores.... unnecessary and so droll.
Also, I found that a lot of the famous women had maybe a paragraph of their own obituary that talked about their life, and then the rest detailed their husbands' exploits. Which is disappointing.
It would be interesting to see another anthology like this for more recent deaths, though, just to see how obituaries have changed in the last decade.
I learnt more about some people I knew of and many I didn't.
I will admit, though, I started to skip the cricket players when the obituaries spent several pages going over their cricket scores.... unnecessary and so droll.
Also, I found that a lot of the famous women had maybe a paragraph of their own obituary that talked about their life, and then the rest detailed their husbands' exploits. Which is disappointing.
It would be interesting to see another anthology like this for more recent deaths, though, just to see how obituaries have changed in the last decade.
August 10, 2020
A superb cocktail of sportsmen, politicians, entertainers and eccentrics. Reading a few entries at a time you'll find yourself coming back for more every time.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews