Non-Fiction Books About Death and Death Culture

1.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory 4.22 avg rating — 104,620 ratings
2.
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death 4.30 avg rating — 45,184 ratings
3.
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers 4.06 avg rating — 234,448 ratings
4.
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death 4.13 avg rating — 46,330 ratings
5.
Severed: A History of Heads Lost and Heads Found
Severed: A History of Heads Lost and Heads Found 3.75 avg rating — 1,811 ratings
6.
Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner
Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner 4.26 avg rating — 26,517 ratings
7.
All That Remains: A Life in Death
All That Remains: A Life in Death
by: Sue Black
4.16 avg rating — 14,783 ratings
8.
San Francisco's Forgotten Cemeteries: A Buried History
San Francisco's Forgotten Cemeteries: A Buried History 4.65 avg rating — 20 ratings
9.
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End 4.49 avg rating — 210,890 ratings
10.
Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures & Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs
Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures & Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs 4.54 avg rating — 826 ratings
11.
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic 4.08 avg rating — 197,139 ratings
12.
The Good Death: An Exploration of Dying in America
The Good Death: An Exploration of Dying in America 3.81 avg rating — 631 ratings
13.
The Big Book of Death
The Big Book of Death 4.19 avg rating — 279 ratings
14.
Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales
Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales 4.22 avg rating — 14,001 ratings
15.
Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography
Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography 4.14 avg rating — 821 ratings
16.
With the End in Mind: Dying, Death, and Wisdom in an Age of Denial
With the End in Mind: Dying, Death, and Wisdom in an Age of Denial 4.57 avg rating — 7,566 ratings
17.
When Breath Becomes Air
When Breath Becomes Air 4.41 avg rating — 767,239 ratings
17.
Dark Archives: A Librarian's Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin
Dark Archives: A Librarian's Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 6,447 ratings
19.
Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places
Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places 3.74 avg rating — 9,982 ratings
20.
Death Is But a Dream: Finding Hope and Meaning at Life's End
Death Is But a Dream: Finding Hope and Meaning at Life's End 4.12 avg rating — 815 ratings
21.
This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War
This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War 4.04 avg rating — 7,249 ratings
22.
The Royal Art of Poison: Filthy Palaces, Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicine, and Murder Most Foul
The Royal Art of Poison: Filthy Palaces, Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicine, and Murder Most Foul 3.99 avg rating — 5,000 ratings
23.
Rest in Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Corpses
Rest in Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Corpses 3.84 avg rating — 2,083 ratings
24.
Driving with Dead People
Driving with Dead People 3.86 avg rating — 5,918 ratings
25.
Six Feet Under or Up in Smoke: The Aussie Way of Death
Six Feet Under or Up in Smoke: The Aussie Way of Death
by: Jim Eames
3.16 avg rating — 25 ratings
25.
Grief Works: Stories of Life, Death and Surviving
Grief Works: Stories of Life, Death and Surviving 3.98 avg rating — 2,136 ratings
27.
The American Way of Death Revisited
The American Way of Death Revisited 3.97 avg rating — 2,582 ratings
28.
The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade
The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade 3.87 avg rating — 3,140 ratings
29.
The Art of Death: Writing the Final Story
The Art of Death: Writing the Final Story 4.15 avg rating — 984 ratings
30.
The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully
The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully 4.46 avg rating — 3,827 ratings
31.
Is the Cemetery Dead?
Is the Cemetery Dead? 3.83 avg rating — 30 ratings
32.
Death (Death of the Endless, #1-2)
Death (Death of the Endless, #1-2) 4.47 avg rating — 8,648 ratings
33.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead
The Egyptian Book of the Dead
by: Anonymous
3.91 avg rating — 5,990 ratings
34.
The Work of the Dead: A Cultural History of Mortal Remains
The Work of the Dead: A Cultural History of Mortal Remains 3.95 avg rating — 167 ratings
34.
Death, Dissection and the Destitute
Death, Dissection and the Destitute 4.11 avg rating — 145 ratings
34.
Cranioklepty: Grave Robbing and the Search for Genius
Cranioklepty: Grave Robbing and the Search for Genius 3.56 avg rating — 248 ratings
34.
American Afterlife: Encounters in the Customs of Mourning
American Afterlife: Encounters in the Customs of Mourning 3.78 avg rating — 197 ratings
34.
Life, Death, and Immortality: The Journey of the Soul
Life, Death, and Immortality: The Journey of the Soul 3.81 avg rating — 16 ratings
34.
After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond
After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond 4.18 avg rating — 4,788 ratings
34.
Funerals and Fried Chicken
Funerals and Fried Chicken 4.44 avg rating — 9 ratings
34.
The Collected Regrets of Clover
The Collected Regrets of Clover 4.16 avg rating — 108,716 ratings
42.
The Politics of Mourning: Death and Honor in Arlington National Cemetery
The Politics of Mourning: Death and Honor in Arlington National Cemetery 3.74 avg rating — 46 ratings
42.
Corpses, Coffins, and Crypts: A History of Burial
Corpses, Coffins, and Crypts: A History of Burial 3.62 avg rating — 460 ratings
42.
Body Snatchers, Stiffs and Other Ghoulish Delights
Body Snatchers, Stiffs and Other Ghoulish Delights 3.74 avg rating — 39 ratings
42.
Magnificent Corpses: Searching Through Europe for St. Peter's Head, St. Claire's Heart, St. Stephen's Hand, and Other Saintly Relics
Magnificent Corpses: Searching Through Europe for St. Peter's Head, St. Claire's Heart, St. Stephen's Hand, and Other Saintly Relics 3.59 avg rating — 147 ratings
42.
Do I Have to Wear Black to a Funeral?: 112 Etiquette Guidelines for the New Rules of Death
Do I Have to Wear Black to a Funeral?: 112 Etiquette Guidelines for the New Rules of Death 3.46 avg rating — 37 ratings
42.
Dear Life: A Doctor’s Story of Love and Loss
Dear Life: A Doctor’s Story of Love and Loss 4.46 avg rating — 3,942 ratings
42.
Threshold: Terminal Lucidity and the Border of Life and Death
Threshold: Terminal Lucidity and the Border of Life and Death 3.98 avg rating — 87 ratings
49.
The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail
The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail 4.56 avg rating — 2,092 ratings
49.
My Father's Wake: How the Irish Teach Us to Live, Love, and Die
My Father's Wake: How the Irish Teach Us to Live, Love, and Die 3.93 avg rating — 558 ratings
49.
Grave Matters
Grave Matters 3.42 avg rating — 36 ratings
49.
The Space of Death: A Study of Funerary Architecture, Decoration, and Urbanism
The Space of Death: A Study of Funerary Architecture, Decoration, and Urbanism really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 10 ratings
49.
Traditions of Death and Burial
Traditions of Death and Burial 3.67 avg rating — 78 ratings
49.
Who Dies? : An Investigation of Conscious Living and Conscious Dying
Who Dies? : An Investigation of Conscious Living and Conscious Dying 4.35 avg rating — 717 ratings
49.
Mort (Discworld, #4; Death, #1)
Mort (Discworld, #4; Death, #1) 4.24 avg rating — 265,342 ratings
56.
The Mummy Congress: Science, Obsession, and the Everlasting Dead
The Mummy Congress: Science, Obsession, and the Everlasting Dead 4.10 avg rating — 866 ratings
56.
Death Without Weeping: The Violence of Everyday Life in Brazil
Death Without Weeping: The Violence of Everyday Life in Brazil 4.21 avg rating — 1,146 ratings
56.
Medieval Bodies: Life and Death in the Middle Ages
Medieval Bodies: Life and Death in the Middle Ages 3.93 avg rating — 2,489 ratings
56.
The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York 4.01 avg rating — 36,514 ratings
56.
Dying Well: Peace and Possibilities at the End of Life
Dying Well: Peace and Possibilities at the End of Life
by: Ira Byock
4.35 avg rating — 1,308 ratings
61.
The Living Dead: Inside the Palermo Crypt
The Living Dead: Inside the Palermo Crypt 3.92 avg rating — 13 ratings
61.
Good Mourning
Good Mourning 3.60 avg rating — 1,364 ratings
61.
Lost Companions: Reflections on the Death of Pets
Lost Companions: Reflections on the Death of Pets 3.18 avg rating — 234 ratings
61.
Hannah's Gift: Lessons from a Life Fully Lived
Hannah's Gift: Lessons from a Life Fully Lived 4.40 avg rating — 1,847 ratings
65.
Celebrations of Death: The Anthropology of Mortuary Ritual
Celebrations of Death: The Anthropology of Mortuary Ritual 3.69 avg rating — 114 ratings
65.
Written in Bones: How Human Remains Unlock the Secrets of the Dead
Written in Bones: How Human Remains Unlock the Secrets of the Dead 3.98 avg rating — 365 ratings
65.
Empires of the Dead: How One Man’s Vision Led to the Creation of WWI’s War Graves
Empires of the Dead: How One Man’s Vision Led to the Creation of WWI’s War Graves 3.71 avg rating — 182 ratings
65.
Mourning Lincoln
Mourning Lincoln 3.69 avg rating — 235 ratings
65.
The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying
The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying 4.30 avg rating — 18,871 ratings
70.
Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession
Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession 3.03 avg rating — 4,040 ratings
70.
Modern Mummies: The Preservation of the Human Body in the Twentieth Century
Modern Mummies: The Preservation of the Human Body in the Twentieth Century 3.89 avg rating — 18 ratings
70.
The Dead Do Talk
The Dead Do Talk 3.75 avg rating — 44 ratings
70.
The Tao of Dying: A Guide to Caring
The Tao of Dying: A Guide to Caring 4.07 avg rating — 14 ratings
74.
The Dying Game: A Curious History of Death
The Dying Game: A Curious History of Death 4.06 avg rating — 64 ratings
74.
London's Dead: A Guided Tour of the capital's dead
London's Dead: A Guided Tour of the capital's dead 3.97 avg rating — 33 ratings
74.
Death: The Trip of a Lifetime
Death: The Trip of a Lifetime 3.68 avg rating — 41 ratings
74.
In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made
In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made 3.41 avg rating — 5,388 ratings
78.
Sweet Sorrow
Sweet Sorrow 3.37 avg rating — 19 ratings
78.
Necropolis: London and Its Dead
Necropolis: London and Its Dead 3.78 avg rating — 2,214 ratings
80.
Cemetery Stories: Haunted Graveyards, Embalming Secrets, and the Life of a Corpse After Death
Cemetery Stories: Haunted Graveyards, Embalming Secrets, and the Life of a Corpse After Death 3.78 avg rating — 621 ratings
80.
A Distant Grief: Australians, War Graves and the Great War
A Distant Grief: Australians, War Graves and the Great War 4.29 avg rating — 7 ratings
80.
The Barbary Plague: The Black Death in Victorian San Francisco
The Barbary Plague: The Black Death in Victorian San Francisco 3.83 avg rating — 1,102 ratings
83.
Death to Dust: What Happens to Dead Bodies?
Death to Dust: What Happens to Dead Bodies? 4.41 avg rating — 229 ratings
83.
Missing in Action: Australia's World War I Grave Services, an astonishing true story of misconduct, fraud and hoaxing
Missing in Action: Australia's World War I Grave Services, an astonishing true story of misconduct, fraud and hoaxing 3.65 avg rating — 26 ratings
83.
Death, Burial, and Afterlife in the Biblical World: How the Israelites and Their Neighbors Treated the Dead
Death, Burial, and Afterlife in the Biblical World: How the Israelites and Their Neighbors Treated the Dead 3.45 avg rating — 11 ratings
86.
After the Funeral: The Posthumous Adventures of Famous Corpses
After the Funeral: The Posthumous Adventures of Famous Corpses 3.55 avg rating — 204 ratings
86.
The Last Executioner: Memoirs of Thailand's Last Prison Executioner
The Last Executioner: Memoirs of Thailand's Last Prison Executioner 3.78 avg rating — 281 ratings
86.
Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account Of The Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate
Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account Of The Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate 4.14 avg rating — 8,952 ratings
89.
In Search of the Immortals: Mummies, Death and the Afterlife
In Search of the Immortals: Mummies, Death and the Afterlife 3.74 avg rating — 46 ratings
89.
The Nameless Names: Recovering the Missing ANZACS
The Nameless Names: Recovering the Missing ANZACS 4.20 avg rating — 20 ratings
91.
On Death and Dying: What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nurses, Clergy and Their Own Families
On Death and Dying: What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nurses, Clergy and Their Own Families 4.16 avg rating — 27,320 ratings
91.
Death: A Graveside Companion
Death: A Graveside Companion 4.48 avg rating — 352 ratings
93.
The Whole Death Catalog: A Lively Guide to the Bitter End
The Whole Death Catalog: A Lively Guide to the Bitter End 3.84 avg rating — 508 ratings
93.
Happier Endings: A Meditation On Life And Death
Happier Endings: A Meditation On Life And Death 4.09 avg rating — 108 ratings
95.
Empire of Death: A Cultural History of Ossuaries and Charnel Houses
Empire of Death: A Cultural History of Ossuaries and Charnel Houses 4.56 avg rating — 511 ratings
95.
The Faithful Executioner: Life and Death, Honor and Shame in the Turbulent Sixteenth Century
The Faithful Executioner: Life and Death, Honor and Shame in the Turbulent Sixteenth Century 3.99 avg rating — 4,344 ratings
95.
The Cause of Death: True Stories of Death and Murder From a New Zealand Pathologist
The Cause of Death: True Stories of Death and Murder From a New Zealand Pathologist 4.22 avg rating — 1,083 ratings
98.
Scalded to Death by the Steam: Authentic Stories of Railroad Disasters and the Ballads That Were Written About Them
Scalded to Death by the Steam: Authentic Stories of Railroad Disasters and the Ballads That Were Written About Them 3.89 avg rating — 19 ratings
98.
CSI Told You Lies
CSI Told You Lies 3.81 avg rating — 750 ratings
100.
Past Mortems: Life and Death Behind Mortuary Doors
Past Mortems: Life and Death Behind Mortuary Doors 3.91 avg rating — 2,455 ratings
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