This is possibly the most bizarre topic for a non-fiction book that I've read, and I loved it.

Robert Webster, a Funeral Director in middle America, has seen it all, from arranging funeral services for a man who wanted to be buried in his truck to two men who who bartered the cost of a funeral service for a pickup truck and conversion van. He's also a good story teller and the book was very readable.

This book is organized by theme, under which Webster shares stories of his long career and he has many stories from when he was working for others, as well as once he opened his own funeral home in 2001. You don't think about laughing when it comes to funerals-and this isn't even macabre humor in the face of death, it's truly giggle worthy moments that accompany the predicted sad stories that surround death.

This covers a lot of things that I'd venture most people don't think about when planning a service for a loved one, but he also touched on some of the news of the last two decades, including the scandals around funeral homes and their practices and looked at them in a fair light. As a family business, he had the expected look at "carpet bagging", when corporations, but I wouldn't say it was an unfair portrayal.

This book was written in 2006 so the pricing info seems shockingly low, even for middle America.

This was a very interesting read - great insight into the funeral process and industry, but in a simple, straightforward way. He tells all the weird and crazy stories you want to hear from a funeral director.
If you've ever wanted a funeral director friend who'll give you the details to the things you've always wondered about, then read this book!

The problem with this book is that the author is completely unself-aware and believes his own hype. This just repeatedly leads to constant jarring moments.

Perhaps the stand out example is the part where he goes on about the importance of treating the dead with dignity and how he always makes sure to do so and then in the next section goes on to graphically describe the breasts of a twenty four year old female suicide victim.

Very interesting. Not as sciencey as Stiff but a very interesting look into the life of a mortician.
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I am so excited to read this book. I loved Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers and think this will have the same feel to it. :)

Less "a book about what being a funeral director is like" and more "a book in which a funeral director complains about other people".

Not a complex book, but a fun, short little jaunt though the funerary business. Webster seems pretty genuine, admitting that being a funeral director is a business but also that it is a necessary emotional service. He seems to really respect people, both the deceased and the family they left behind, which is nice.

very interesting

Ultimately unsatisfying-- less fixated on the mysterious goings on of funeral practises, more content to harp petulantly about business issues, Webster misses a great opportunity to introduce readers to the mysteries of what goes on with dead bodies in a funeral home. Instead, he spends most of the book complaining about his competitors and dismissing ideas he doesn't think are worthwhile. Disappointing.

I find this book as a necessary read for everyone, simply because we are all destined to die. Death, especially in American culture is a taboo topic not to be brought up until a death in the family occurs. The only issue is that in the midst of grief people don't always make the best decisions. I can say that I have experienced seeing the nasty side of people who have fought over belongings of a deceased because the person in question never thought to write a will.
This book does not reflect on the gory details of the funeral business but rather gives you a perspective that as a reader is quite valuable, such as information you need to know. It is never too early to write a will, never too early to think about either wanting a burial or a cremation etc etc.
Funerals are not easy nor are they cheap, better to do the research now to save up, rather than leave the grief and the stress to your loved ones. It's your body, so make sure you get a say in what happens after death.

I think this had the potential to be a very insightful book about the lives of funeral directors and it started out well. But somewhere around the halfway mark, it turned into a listing of faults of conglomerates and how the little man is getting hurt in the funeral industry. nor at all what the first several chapters of the book were, nor what the synopsis portrayed. I enjoyed the glimpse into a directors life but it certainly wasn't the type of book that it is advertised to be.