Melville's journey spans coast to coast, from the early colonial cemeteries on the east, to Gold Rush-era cemeteries out west
Melville centers cemeteries within a larger cultural history and notes how cemeteries acted as our first city parks and art galleries, some of our earliest conservation projects, symbols for expressions of religious freedom, and the creation of suburban subdivisions, among other topics
Also looks at cemeteries standing as historical records to key US events, including the Civil War, Chinese Americans building the American West, the creation of Central Park, and the birth of the modern death industrial complex
Melville is a deft and funny writer, covering a wide range of topics-everything from the introduction of embalming practices to the history of racially segregated cemeteries
Includes cemeteries in the Chicago area
Since Mary Roach's Stiff, which has sold close to one million copies since 2003, books that tackle death in smart and quirky ways have seen considerable success
