Sloan – Bury the Dead

Sloan, Christopher. Bury the Dead: Tombs, Corpses, Mummies, Skeletons & Rituals. Washington DC: National Geographic, 2002.

This week’s assignment was Non-Fiction, so without further ado: a non-fiction review:

Bury the Dead is a non-fiction pictorial work for children about historical burial practices throughout a variety of ancient civilizations. Sloan is an editor for National Geographic magazine. According to his forward, “the inspiration for this book came from the beautiful archaeological art and photography published by the National Geographic Society over the years.”[1] The work offers archaeological evidence for the burial practices of a variety of ancient civilizations including Neanderthals, the ancient Egyptians, & the ancient Peruvians. Sloan’s book ends with a brief survey of burial practices in use today from all over the world.

From the standpoint of a coffee-table style book, I thought that Bury the Dead was pretty good; the pictures were excellent & the format/ layout were good. Furthermore, it was a good book from a purely informative standpoint; Sloan had experts in each of the fields oversee the development of the chapter about their specialty. The book had a lot of the sensational about it, but I don’t know that that is necessarily a bad thing. Naturally, any book about mummies & diverse other dead people is going to be a bit sensational & this one does its part to make archaeology cool. The work is filled with photographs of skeletons & mummies; often with macabre imagery such as the cannibalized skull back-lit by open flames on page 18, or the Dani man of Irian Jaya carrying around the smoked corpse of a friend on page 61. In addition, the book is laced with artists’ sensational depictions of scenes from the lives of the peoples mentioned; such as the Neanderthal spread on pages 16 & 17 which includes a body plummeting into a pit filled with assorted rotting bones & corpses, a deformed, one-armed, one-eyed man & bare-breasted women & the Scythian funeral procession on 36 & 37 showing a horde of people slashing themselves with knives in their grief.

A Booklist review agrees, saying; “Kids will find it hard to resist picking up a book with words like corpses and skeletons in the title. And this one doesn’t disappoint.”[2] maryoverton on LibraryThing also offered a nice little review; “Non-fiction lit for kids is fabulous these days. Here is a gloriously illustrated book that will satisfy the most morbid seeker of grossness — while at the same time treating the subject with academic accuracy and intelligence.”[3] Kirkus Reviews adds, “Writing in consultation with a grief specialist, the author tries for a sober, straightforward narrative tone-which falters when he mentions particularly exotic customs, such as the Yanomami practice of pulverizing and eating their dead, or has to contend with an artist’s reconstruction of Scythian mourners cutting themselves, not to mention the numerous close-up photos of mummies and bones.”[4]

This would be a great choice for a Guys Read book display, or even a booktalk – non-fiction + gross-factor + cool pictures = book for boys. It might also be a nice addition to a National Geographic display, or for something archaeology-themed. A co-worker of mine at one of our other branches does an Egyptian hieroglyphic teen program; I’m going to recommend this title to her to put out on display during the program.

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[1] pp. 2.

[2] “Bury the Dead,” Booklist Reviews, 2002 December #1. as found in Baker & Taylor’s Title Source 3. http://ts3b.informata.com/TS3/record.jsp?rn=1&ps=4&fr=0&anc=1&bs=1&fb=0&n=E%3A%5Cwebapp%5Cts3%5Cmain%5Cusers%5Cls000688.rec&FirstRec=Y (accessed 12 April, 2010).

[3] maryoverton, “Bury the Dead,” LibraryThing, 7 April, 2009. http://www.librarything.com/work/621699 (accessed 12 April, 2010).

[4] “Bury the Dead,” Kirkus Reviews, 2002, September #1. as found in Baker & Taylor’s Title Source 3. http://ts3b.informata.com/TS3/record.jsp?rn=1&ps=4&fr=0&anc=1&bs=1&fb=0&n=E%3A%5Cwebapp%5Cts3%5Cmain%5Cusers%5Cls000688.rec&FirstRec=Y (accessed 12 April, 2010).