Death: A history of man's obsessions and fears

by Robert Wilkins

We are fascinated with death; some of us deny it, some try to escape it, most dread it. Filled with strange anecdotes and illustrated with many bizarre and ghoulish images, Death: A History of Man’s Obsessions and Fears records the lengths to which people throughout history have gone to cope with the five principle fears regarding death: the fear of being buried alive; of our body being defiled in the grave; of disintegrating; of being forgotten; and of suffering an ignominious death. Here you can read about:
The case of Lavrinia Merli, who died of hysterics. Two days after burial she was discovered turned over in her grave, having given birth to a seven month old baby.
The various methods of embalming, including the Egyptian, and a step-by-step account of modern embalming.
The horrifying slow and painful ending of Robert Francois Damiens, who was tortured to death after attempting to assassinate King Louis XV.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Death, Reference, Anthropology

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Ints · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kārtējo reizi nevarēju izvēlēties, ko lasīt. Nolēmu patīrīt savus vecos krājumus un izlasīt kādu no grāmatām, kura sen iegādāta mētājas pa plauktiem un netiek lasīta. Tam gan bija vairāki iemesli , galvenais, kopš grāmatas nopirkšanas par šo tēmu ir lasītas jau pāris grāmatas, un bija aizdomas, ka neko jaunu man viņa pavēstīt nevarēs.

Grāmatas autors uzskata, ka cilvēki mīl galējības, un arī nāve nav izņēmums, to vai nu pilnībā ignorē, vai arī uztraucas par to. Tad nu viņš nolēmis lasītāju iepazīstināt ar dažādiem nāves aspektiem, lai, kad pienāk lasītāja pēdējā stundiņa, viņam nebūtu nekādu satraukumu. Šī mērķa sasniegšanai, lasītājam grāmatā tiek pavēstīts par dažādiem ar nāvi un miršanu saistītiem aspektiem.

Grāmatas sākumā galvenais uzsvars tiek likts uz bailēm tikt apbedītam dzīvam. Šīs bailes mīt daudzu cilvēku prātos, jo diez kas nav pamosties šaurā kastē un netikt ārā. Šai leģendai ir liels spēks, tas nekas, ka pierādījumu šādiem notikumiem nav daudz. Tiek gan izteiktas aizdomas, ka kaut kas tāds varētu atgadīties holeras epidēmiju laikos, kad pa burzmu varēja aprakt ne tikai nomirušos, bet vēl mirstošos. Nodaļa ieskicē vispārējās idejas, tomēr, ja interese ir dziļāka, tad iesaku izlasīt šo grāmatu Buried Alive: The Terrifying History of Our Most Primal Fear.

Neizpaliek arī kapu aplaupīšanas problemātika. Savulaik dažādi likumi aizliedza preparēt cilvēka ķermeni, un tādēļ tie tika zagti no kapsētas. Londonā, Edinburgā un Parīzē šī lieta bija tīrā sērga, un aizgājēja radiniekiem nācās nopietni papūlēties, lai savu aizgājēju nosargātu. “Augšāmcelšanas” metodes nenoliedzami ir interesanta lasāmviela. Par tiem, kas labāk dakterim aizstiepa nevis nelaiķi no kapiem, bet paša sarūpētu, domājams zina visi. Arī šeit es labāk ietektu izlasīt Cranioklepty: Grave Robbing and the Search for Genius

Neizpaliek arī dažādu metožu apraksti, kas tiek pielietotas, lai saglabātu līķi svaigā paskatā vismaz līdz apbedīšanas brīdim. Agrāk cilvēki aizrāvās ar mumifikāciju, un tas bija diezgan darbietilpīgs process, arī normāli balzamēt cilvēkus apbedīšanas industrija iemācījās salīdzinoši nesen. Bonusā apraksts, kā pareizi izkaltēt pretinieka galvu līdzi nēsāšanai un dažādu tautu apbedīšanas paražas. Senajā Grieķijā izrādās mirušos kremējuši, izņemot bērnus, kuriem vēl nav izdīguši zobi. Un līķa kaltēšana uz trepēm pa Toresa šauruma aborigēnu modei ir visdīvainākā lieta ko esmu lasījis.

Tad ir sadaļa par dažādu slavenību nāvēm, teikšu atklāti garlaicīgs lasāmais. Vai tad nav vienalga kā kurš karalis nomiris? Interesantāk bija lasīt par dažādiem ekscentriskiem pašnāvību veidiem. Itālis, kurš pats sevi piesita krustā un procesā izkāra sevi ar visu krustu pa savas mājas logu ir iespaidīgas apņēmības apliecinājums. Pašnāvība gan ir tāda modes lieta, atliek kādam pakārties pie kāda āķa un tad visi tur karās, kamēr āķi kāds attapīgs cilvēks nenoņem. Sieviešu pašnāvību uzliesmojumus kādreiz apkaroja, līķi pēc pašnāvības kailu izvelkot cauri ciemam, tas lika daudziem cilvēkiem pārdomāt. Vispār risks, ka tavs līķis pēc pašnāvības tiks apgānīts vai pret viņu necienīgi izturēsies tiek uzskatīts par labu prevencijas līdzekli. Tādēļ arī visas apbedīšanas krustcelēs, galvas nogriešana utt.

Nodaļa par pēdējiem vārdiem arī bija interesanta. Cilvēks jau nekad nezina savu nāves brīdi un bieži vien gadās, ka rūpīgi gatavotie pacilājošie teksti netiek aizmirsti un cilvēks galus atdod runājot par ēšanu. Vai arī ar tekstu: “Viņi no turines mums gribēdami netrāp…”.

Grāmatai lieku 7 no 10 ballēm. Labs dažādu interesantu stāsteļu apkopojums, bez dziļākas analīzes. Daža laba lieta šķiet ir pilnīga fikcija, bet labu stāstu jau ar taisnību nav ko maitāt. Ja gribas vieglu un nenopietnu lasāmo par nāves tēmu, tad šī grāmata ir lasāma.

[MKF]

There's a lot of information that is inaccurate like the mention of the cursed mummy on the Titanic.

[Vaughnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't speak highly enough of this book. So much information! It's one I read over and over because I always end up learning something new.

[MKF]

This book and the author's other book The Bedside Book of Death is the exact same book just different titles.

[Fionafickle1 · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took forever to read it. I slogged thru lots and lots of interesting facts but at times quite boring and tedious. I would have liked a little more story with some of the facts. I found myself making notes on who did what with whose heart or body! I never take this long to read a book.

[Elaine Reinhard · Rating 5 out of 5]

The history sections of this book are great. Fascinating to read. The funeral directing chapter is written very biased and partially inaccurate. Good read in general.

[Warhammer Grantham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a basic overview of the attitudes humans have held towards death and mortality throughout history. The book, while a bit dry and dusty in its language, covers the different attitudes toward death in each age with a dry wit befitting a subject that deals with the treatment of old bones. This book taught me the less than pristine origins of medical knowledge of anatomy, mummies existed outside of ancient Egypt, and just how very bad early medical professionals were at discerning a corpse from a mere faint. Overall an interesting comprehensive look at our collective attitudes on the eventual end of life. I rather enjoyed this book. I would not recommend eating while reading this work. I found that out the hard way when I started the chapter on mummies.

[Bryan Whitehead · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can you say about a book that features chapters with names like “Fear of Posthumous Indignity”? This work was originally published as The Bedside Book of Death, which accurately advertises its parade of brief treatments of a wide variety of morbid topics. If thinking about death bothers you, this clearly isn’t your ideal bathroom read. If, on the other hand, you enjoy odd anecdotes and bizarre bits of trivia about our eventual end, there are more than a few nuggets worth mining in this pit. Author Robert Wilkins even includes a collection of grainy, black and white reproductions of some fascinating photographs. The only thing I found distracting was Wilkins’ occasionally-oh-so-English writing. Final upshot: the last words of the book are “Long live eccentric death!”

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty fascinating book. It got very slow at times, but explored many topics I'd always wondered about. It covers the way different cultures viewed death through the ages, the way different societies have gone about disposing of the dead, the way cremation works, fears that cultures have had about death and how they've gone about ridding them, the biological process of death, etc. He went on too long about certain topics and not long enough about others, but I finished it feeling like I learned a great deal of history and biology, and many questions I've always had have been answered.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know there were so many things you could discuss about death, dying and corpses.
A interesting subject as it will come to us all one day.
You get drawn into this book and it tells you quite a few things you
knew and quite a lot you don't know about dead bodies.
Not a scary but a pause for thought book.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this under its original title, "The Bedside Book of Death". It never too thoroughly explored any of the topics it covered, but it was an entertaining enough read for a morbid, death-obsessed soul.

[J.D. Stroube · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was not as depressing as I expected it to be...There were some sections that I needed to gloss over, because they were a little too "icky" for me. Overall, it was a decent book when considering the subject.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Very interesting. Once I came to terms with the subject matter (it felt 'wrong' to be interested in such a thing) it made for a facinating read. It definitely satisfied all of my morbid curiosities!

[Misa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty awesome historical review of Western society's thoughts and practices on death. Definitely some new information for me bringing some killer visuals... but I'm a sucker for the subject. Oh, and there's pictures. That's right.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful collection of death-related facts, tidbits, and anecdotes.

[Renee Yancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book. I re-read it every year. Lots of archaeological tidbits and historical information.