The American Way of Death Revisited

Only the scathing wit and searching intelligence of Jessica Mitford could turn an exposé of the American funeral industry into a book that is at once deadly serious and side-splittingly funny. When first published in 1963, this landmark of investigative journalism became a runaway bestseller and resulted in legislation to protect grieving families from the unscrupulous sales practices of those in "the dismal trade."<br><br>Just before her death in 1996, Mitford thoroughly revised and updated her classic study. <b>The American Way of Death Revisited</b> confronts new trends, including the success of the profession's lobbyists in Washington, inflated cremation costs, the telemarketing of pay-in-advance graves, and the effects of monopolies in a death-care industry now dominated by multinational corporations. With its hard-nosed consumer activism and a satiric vision out of Evelyn Waugh's novel <b>The Loved One</b>, <b>The American Way of Death Revisited</b> will not fail to inform, delight, and disturb. <br><br>"Brilliant--hilarious. . . . A must-read for anyone planning to throw a funeral in their lifetime."--<i>New York Post</i><br><br>"Witty and penetrating--it speaks the truth."--<i>The Washington Post</i>