Grave Tidings: An Anthology of Famous Last Words

by Paul Berra

Overview

Last words have an irresistible significance to the living. They can be funny, reflective, scornful and delirious, they can also be contentious or improbable, ascribed afterwards to propagate some ideal or idea sacred to the age, or particular ideology. Most of all, we are fascinated by last words because, humanity in extremis, they seem to tell us something about ourselves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781785901027
Publisher:	Biteback Publishing, Ltd.
Publication date:	10/31/2017
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	4.38(w) x 7.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Paul Berra: Paul Berra is a musician, writer and comedian, often prone to uttering ‘last words’ in moments of existential crisis. He will go down in history as the unfortunate who muttered the words ‘I’m only here for the bier’ at Malcolm McLaren’s funeral. The author lives next to a grave yard in rural England.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. The Hedonists: Drinkers, gourmands, libertines and the hopelessly entertaining
featuring Dylan Thomas, Jack Daniel, Niccolò Machiavelli and Oscar Wilde

2. Parting shots: Saints, spies, kings, killers, heroes and the irremediably unlucky
featuring Emperor Nero, Ethel Rosenberg, Giles Corey and Ned Kelly

3. The Optimists: Dreamers, wishful thinkers and the terminally unprepared
featuring Charles Darwin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Seamus Heaney and Ayrton Senna

4. The Pragmatists: Stoics, realists, fatalists and the incurably unimpressed
featuring Captain Lawrence Oates, Winston Churchill, Laurence Olivier and Alexander the Great

5. The Visionaries: Mystics, thinkers, legends and the downright inspirational
featuring Amelia Earhart, Che Guevara, John Wayne and Leonardo da Vinci