Last Laughs

Laugh in the face of death! That’s what this bold, brash, and often irreverent collection of epitaphs encourages readers to do. It offers more than just the deceased’s name and dates of birth and death, plus a touching phrase in memorial. Instead, every fascinating quote presents an unexpectedly cheeky perspective on the tragic, like this one from Uniontown, New Jersey: “Here lies the body of Jonathan Blake; stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brake.”Some come from the gravestones of the famous: Bette Davis’s proudly notes that “she did it the hard way.” Each thought-provoking line makes an indelible contribution to our folklore.