Laid to Rest in California: A Guide to the Cemeteries and Grave Sites of the Rich and Famous

I bought this when it first was published and ended giving 3 more copies to people for Christmas. As I have read two other cemetery books by Patricia Brooks, guess you'd say I am an enthusiastic fan. Why do I like this book? I do this as a hobby. It started as a family togetherness thing as my dad was in the 'biz' and owned a couple of funeral homes. We'd go out to the boneyard and take pictures of interesting graves. Sometimes we'd find famous people, but more often than not our finds would be infamous such as Al Capone or Hymie Weiss(both infamous gangsters). When I started driving I'd take off solo and do my thing. I'm telling you this because I'm living proof that people do some oddball things and this is a passion of mine. What appealed to me about this book? In California, you are never more than 6 ft away from your favorite movie star------provided they are 1) dead and 2) buried or inurned. Ms. Brooks was wise not to try to get every grave because it is only going to dilute what she had and is a task of herculean proportion that a reputable writer does with respect and accuracy. California is grave hunters nirvana. Brooks has done her work and produced biographies that complement her grave pictures and locations. She's chosen a good cross-section of interesting people for inclusion in her book and I found this book not only interesting but also engaging. This book is particularly nice because it covers the entire state of California and if you are inclined to do road trips you can see and do other things and mix it up with cemetery hopping. While this is a good book for any graveyard enthusiast, it is also good if you are sitting 2,000 miles away in front of the fireplace during a blizzard kicking back vin glug. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes graveyards or the last resting places of the famous or infamous. Another great book that I recently read LA FOREVER by Douglas Keister is another gem that I would recommend because there is very little overlap and it is also entertaining.

Bought for a friend who is fasinated with the final resting spot for famous people! Creepy but thats his thing!

I bought this book about two years ago while visiting my sweethearts family who live outside of Sacramento. Being that I'm a die-hard grave hunter to the extreme, I thought it would be fitting to buy a grave hunting related book in the state where the hobby began. The book covers celebrities and other interesting notables buried throughout the state of California. The geographical areas include Southern California and the respective cities in that area and Northern California and the respective cities in that area. The book is organized alphabetically by city and cemetery. Listing various cemeteries located in the cities represented in the book. In the book there are many photos spread through out the pages, and while not including biographical info on each celebrity or notable in the book Patricia includes a brief list at the beginning of each chapter of other celebrities and their claim to fame buried in that particular cemetery. The book will make a very nice addition to your grave hunting library if your a grave hunter or if you have a fascination with grave sites in general. The only thing I didn't like about the book is the fact it has a lot of liberal leanings in the way things are said. Other than that its a very enjoyable book.

Very entertaining - also good reference as to whether or not certain names are deceased or not plus dates. As a lover of old black and white movies, I can satisfy my curiousity as to status of actors.

This book really surprised me. A browse through Remains to be Seen in California amounts to much more than picking over the bones of dead actors and historical figures. Nothing so dry as that. On the contrary, there's a great deal of fresh meat to the short biographical write-ups here, and it's well seasoned with humor, irony and opinionated insight. I'd initially thought to give the book away as a gift to my mother in law, but got carried away digging through the various entries, laughing at some, shaking my head in disagreement at others, that I decided to keep it for myself. Not only is the copy now too dog-eared to serve as a gift, but it's too darn funny for my straight-laced in-law. My one complaint is that mixed in with profiles on Jimi Hendrix, Jack London, John Muir, Rodney Dangerfield, etc., are an awful lot of "bios" on really old people that I've never heard of. But of course, my ignorance may be someone else's erudition. Although I'm not one of those people who's dying to visit cemeteries, the authors not only make it look easy, by giving lots of specifics on hours, addresses, tours, etc., but they even manage to make it look fun by listing lunch places near the tour spots. I never thought I'd dig a cemetery book, but this one really rattled my bones.