The Book of Eulogies

A collection of eulogies, as the title implies, along with some letters and writings on death and grief. It is a curious fact that, as shown here, the most unlikely people can be eloquent in the face of death. Many of the eulogies here quoted are beautiful and moving not for the sake of the dead but for the power of the language used to carry them back to the hearers' and readers' memories. Especially noteworthy are Atatürk's memorial to soldiers ~ both Allies and Central Powers ~ who died at Gallipoli in W.W.I, Richard Selzer on his mother, Neru on Ghandi ~ more than can be listed. Not at all the morbid book one might think this would be; it is, in fact, more a celebration of the possibilities of life than a mourning about death.

You cannot read this book without getting a sense of the importance of each soul and the real value in our interactions with other people. For it is how others remember us that matters, and how we touch each others lives that lasts. It is a very moving collection.