Cool Dead People: Obituaries of Real Folks We Wish We'd Met a Little Sooner

by Jane O'Boyle

A humorous and inspiring collection that celebrates little-known people who led remarkable lives. You won't find them in history books. They're people you've probably never heard of, but they made the world a more interesting place while they were in it. Here is just a sampling of the colorful obituaries you'll find in Cool Dead People : * Insurance agent and Montana conservationist Art Aylesworth , best known as the "Bluebird Man" for his work with the mountain and western bluebirds, who built and gave away more than 35,000 bluebird nest boxes. His efforts saved these two birds from extinction. * Mel Fisher , who spent years diving for sunken treasure, only to hit paydirt at the age of 62: Off Key West he uncovered a $400 million cache of silver bars, gold, emerald, diamonds, and pearls which had been lost on a Spanish ship in 1622. * The literary agent, Connie Clausen , who began her career as an elephant rider in the circus. From the doctor who healed a town to a typewriter repairman to the stars...from the countess who traded her title for a waitress tray, to the cleaning lady who left $150,000 to a local college, this whimsical and moving collection has the last word on over 100 people who could be, well, any one of us.

Genres: Nonfiction

161 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2001

Reviews

[Ren · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an interesting little book! It's nice to read about the not-so-famous-but-still-interesting people.

[Ruth York · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting stories about people who while they led interesting lives, and contributed to the lives of others, are mostly lost to obscurity. Quick read.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an original book about people we didn't know but still lived unusual lives. O'Boyle gathered these obituaries and compiled them in this book. Not a lengthy read but oh so interesting!

[Danielle Woolard · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's cute. I appreciate that the author wrote all these obituaries for these people, but I wish the book contained the original obits as well.

[Corinne Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, the subtitle of this book is "Obituaries of Real Folks We Wish We'd Met a Little Sooner."

This is a delightful little volume, really just a compilation of two-page histories of some pretty incredible but virtually unknown personalities. Conservationists, Code-Talkers, poker players, entrepreneurs and musicians - all just people who change the world in tiny but important ways.

They aren't REALLY obituaries, not the ones you'd read in the paper. They are more like life-summaries, incredibly readable. And you don't need to read it all in one sitting, it's great for a few minutes here and there when you've got time. I like that it made me think about how important our lives are, that just because we don't end up on a reality tv show or splayed on the front page of the newspaper, that doesn't mean our life doesn't have significance to someone.

It didn't change my life or anything but I can't think of a thing that really annoyed me about it. If you like this sort of thing, I'd totally recommend it.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't as good as I expected it to be. While many of the people inside did have impressive lives, I expected something a little more fun to read and this was rather dry. It did give me some interesting ideas for stories and such, but it could have been written in a way that was more interesting since they weren't using actual obituaries but rather their own obituaries (it seems).

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, interesting book about all sorts of dead people. It contains a bit of history and trivia, and mostly talks about the achievements of some extraordinary people. It made me wonder what my obituary will say!

[Marisa Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable collection of stories of real folks that played a part in history but have been overlooked - typewriter repairman to the stars, first TV weatherman, man who started the Soapbox Derby and others. Light, humorous and educational read.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

quick pleasant. I liked what I learned about other eras and random info. e.g. the Nazca lines of Peru.) Recommended by Rebecca H. -- thanks.

[Russeller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun