Fame At Last: Who Was Who According to The New York Times Obituaries

Master writer and researcher Jill Jonnes is back, this time teamed with the venerable John C. Ball. Fame At Last is the culmination of an unlikely look at a five-year history of New York Times obituaries. The New York Times obits are a veritable who's who of the recently deceased; only those who've been pioneers in their chosen field earn a coveted spot in these pages. This odd subject matter makes for fascinating reading.Jonnes and Ball developed a database for the ten thousand or so obits in their study, classifying them by occupation, education, income level, obit length, and more. When massaged, their database reveals interesting patterns about these chosen few and highlights the value of higher education, particularly at renowned ivy league schools. Chapters are broken down by field of expertise--artists, politicians, writers, inventors, criminals, musicians, educators, etc. There's something for everyone.For each chapter, Jonnes has culled a sampling of the most compelling obits, and devotes a page or two to anecdotal musing on each. In its essence, Fame At Last is a collection of short biographies on some of the world's most creative, intelligent, productive, or infamous personalities, some of whom we're familiar with, some we're not. Surprisingly fun and illustrative. Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead.

I am very impressed with the time spent to research the subject matter. The authors obviously had the perserverance and energy to devote a significant number of hours to the data collection and analysis phases.Since I like history, I particularly liked the interesting items about indiviiduals that I have read or heard of in other media. There are some lessons to be learned from the lives of the people included in the book.Also, the statistics bring out some interesting points regarding education, field of endeavor (Occupational Groups)and differences between the sexes and races. For example, the list of names in Table 1-4, "The Overall Apex of Fame: The Longest Obituarties," remind one of the people that have gone before us and have made a difference.The authors are to be congratulated for providing a great read of a subject that some people shun. (Personally, I get up each morning, check the local obits and if my name is not included I go to work)