The Last Word: The New York Times Book of Obituaries and Farewells : A Celebration of Unusual Lives

This is a fascinating collection of obituaries from the New York Times. Although these appeared at the time of the subjects' deaths, I can't imagine a book more full of life. All kinds of people: the guy who wrote "Louie, Louie"; the man who developed Burma Shave's roadside signs; a woman who knit more than 40,000 pairs of mittens for others; the doctor who realized that cold water was a better treatment for burns than grease; the man who founded the Simplicity pattern company; Lewis B. Puller, Jr., former Marine who was the son of "Chesty" Puller and wrote about the hell he endured in Vietnam and after; writer Joseph Mitchell; fashion designer Molly Parnis; Jerrie Siegel, creator of Superman; and on and on, including the recipe for show more Junior's cheesecake.

Obviously, I could go on and on, but you should just read it. As usual, true stories are more improbable and interesting than fiction.

There are several essays at the end about Jessica Dubroff, the seven-year-old girl who died in 1996 trying to become the youngest cross-country pilot. I'd forgotten that story and how everything about it enraged me. Now I wonder how her family is doing, and what happened to her sister and brother. show less

Collection of obituaries from Sunday New York Times. Some famous, some infamous, some unknown, all interesting.