SKU: 10937330580

The Work of the Dead: A Cultural History of Mortal Remains

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The Work of the Dead: A Cultural History of Mortal RemainsThe meaning of our concern for mortal remains from antiquity through the twentieth century The Greek philosopher Diogenes said that when he died his body should be tossed over the city walls for beasts to scavenge. Why should he or anyone else care what became of his corpse? In The Work of the Dead, acclaimed cultural historian Thomas Laqueur examines why humanity has universally rejected Diogenes's argument. No culture has been indifferent to mortal

The meaning of our concern for mortal remains--from antiquity through the twentieth century

The Greek philosopher Diogenes said that when he died his body should be tossed over the city walls for beasts to scavenge. Why should he or anyone else care what became of his corpse? In The Work of the Dead, acclaimed cultural historian Thomas Laqueur examines why humanity has universally rejected Diogenes's argument. No culture has been indifferent to mortal remains. Even in our supposedly disenchanted scientific age, the dead body still matters--for individuals, communities, and nations. A remarkably ambitious history, The Work of the Dead offers a compelling and richly detailed account of how and why the living have cared for the dead, from antiquity to the twentieth century.

The book draws on a vast range of sources--from mortuary archaeology, medical tracts, letters, songs, poems, and novels to painting and landscapes in order to recover the work that the dead do for the living: making human communities that connect the past and the future. Laqueur shows how the churchyard became the dominant resting place of the dead during the Middle Ages and why the cemetery largely supplanted it during the modern period. He traces how and why since the nineteenth century we have come to gather the names of the dead on great lists and memorials and why being buried without a name has become so disturbing. And finally, he tells how modern cremation, begun as a fantasy of stripping death of its history, ultimately failed--and how even the ashes of the victims of the Holocaust have been preserved in culture.

A fascinating chronicle of how we shape the dead and are in turn shaped by them, this is a landmark work of cultural history.-- "Library Journal"

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 05/08/2018
ISBN: 9780691180939
Pages: 744
Weight: 2.00lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.10w x 2.20d
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SKU: 10937330580

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Chris Antos
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Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2026
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Tony Lorenzo
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Está muy bonito y queda muy elegante para todas las ocasiones.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2026
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Suren
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stoped working after 2 weeks. Had to send it to swatch group to get it fixed Had to wait for more than a month to get it back
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Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2025
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Foster
Lowell, US
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007 watch
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The Omega version cost $11.300, this Pagani version cost me $124. What can I say ? Whatch looks great, comfortable, I'm gonna buy another one to my brother.
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Lowell, US
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Solid all-around watch
Color: Grey
I was looking for something that I could wear just about anywhere. I wouldn't wear this to the gym, but it looks good in casual, work, elevated, and even some dress environment. Black-tie, I might look for something a bit more elegant, but 95% of the time, this watch fits. Keeps good time. I haven't witnessed a full 80 hour power reserve yet, but I also can't say that I ever needed that much. Lume is nice, just give it a chance to charge up. I like this more than the PRX. It's a more classic look, I think PRX will look silly in a short time in comparison.
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