Mo Rocca is such a delight and his humor and intelligence show in this book honoring people (and even a diagnosis) that died but may have been overlooked. I enjoyed reading this book over several months, savoring it in small bites. Some of the people are famous, others you may not have heard of before.

Full of intriguing entertaining history and many of the characters perhaps forgotten or neglected as time goes by. He opens with Thomas Paine. If most of us know anything about him, it was that he wrote Common Sense. But after his early role in the American revolution, he died forgotten with only 8 people in attendance at his funeral. From Herbert Hoover to Fanny Brice, Rocca tells their stories with gentle humor and insight.

Loved the flow of this book and the way the reader is given information as well as a nice dose of humor! The storytelling is unique and gripping and this was such a fast read!

I started this book back in 2019 as a NetGalley ARC...it was slow to get going and then COVID hit and nothing could keep my attention especially a book about obituaries. Fast forward to 2022 and I see it on my Libby app as an audio book. Wait..a book READ by Mo Rocca!? That I might be able to do! I picked up where I left off and 6 hours later I am done and I am so glad I finished it. I had no desire to pick it up again honestly but I am really glad I did. I learned so many weird fun facts and have new respects for things I definitely didn't respect before. I highly suggest the audio of this.

You can learn a lot from reading obituaries, and while it may sound odd to say, I have found a lot of entertainment in them, as well. Mo Rocca makes use of both of those things in this unique and fun book. Highly recommended for those who like to learn and laugh through unusual means.

This book did take me a while to get into and actually finish it. At the time of writing this review, this book has been out for two years. I listened to it on audiobook because I couldn't get into it by just reading the ebook. However, the audiobook is narrated by the author and I really enjoyed listening to it! Some of the Mobituaries that he wrote was very interesting and I am so glad that I picked it up when I did. First non-fiction book of the year and I can't believe I waited this long to read it!

I’m finding this book fascinating. It’s not a fictional, sit down, and relax kind of book for me. It honestly feels more like a super interesting Discovery Channel kind of experience, where I’m learning really cool facts about people. This has taken me much longer to read than traditional stories because it demands attention and I really enjoy it.

This was an interesting book, and a fascinating look into some very interesting people. I did think it dragged a bit at times and maybe could have been a bit shorter, but it's a great book to pick up when you don't have tons of time, you can read an essay or two and come back later and pick it right back up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the review copy of this book.

An interesting look at famous and not so famous people and the lives they lived. I enjoyed reading this book and would love to own a copy of it to refer back to.

No at keys on the morbid task of rewriting obituaries in his typical sardonic style. Love this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for this book.

Not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't this. Did not finish. I wanted unusual obituaries of people but all I got was explanations about different people in life. I was expecting obituaries of people in life I guess.

I received an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Mo Rocca has written a novel celebrating life— by giving proper obituaries to some of the greatest lives. He takes you through the lives of individuals ranging from famous to infamous to nearly forgotten, showing you the marks they left along the way.

Given that the author hosts a podcast himself, it should be no surprise that my highest recommendation for this book would be for readers who enjoy podcasts like Stuff You Missed In History Class and You Must Remember This. I would also put this in the hands of anyone who likes books they can read in convenient chunks, learning trivia, and of course, anyone who loves a good Wikipedia rabbit hole.

Not quite what I was hoping for. Wasn’t as engaging. I think I’d rather listen to the podcast.. While Rocco is hilarious and engaging on television and on the podcast, it just doesn’t translate here in this book.

What a great book! As a lover of "fun facts" and obituaries, this book was right up my alley! Mo Rocca educated, enlightened and entertained me from page one through his wonderful afterward to his father. The writing is tight and witty. I enjoyed when I could anticipate the segue Rocca was going to make. Thank you Simon & Schuster for this ARC.

This book was based on Rocca’s podcast, which I had not heard, but I am an obituary reader, and the fact that there are several books like this makes me understand that I am not the only one. These are not necessarily the lives celebrated in the NY Times pages, though many are familiar. Rocca celebrates people famous for unusual reasons, and also honors the demise of some unusual things: the station wagon, sports teams, and dragons. This is a perfect choice for these times, I think, not because it’s about people dying—it’s not, it’s celebrating lives—but because I seem to have a social-media-induced attention span, and these individual stories offer some respite from all of that.

A light-hearted look at interesting lives through their obituaries. “Did Sammy Davis Jr. and Jim Henson really have to die on the same day? Didn’t each of these brilliant talents deserve a news cycle all to himself?” Mo Rocca shares lots of information in an informal, chatty way. He covers everything from Siamese twins to Billy Carter, dragons to disco, station wagons to minivans. Everyone is sure to find something of interest. The epilogue had surprisingly touching odes to dead trees.
Sometimes you can’t read a whole book in a timely fashion. These amusing anecdotes are just right for those times. They don’t take intense concentration to follow and leave you more knowledgeable in goofy ways or bring a smile to a drab day. The book, like the Lawrence Welk show profiled in it has nothing dramatic or shocking happening. “There’s enough ugliness in the world. It’s a show (book) where you’re allowed to…sit down for a minute. In other words, a refuge.”
For those who like to fact-check, there is a long list of works consulted at the end.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am finding it very difficult to get through this book. I thought it would be my kind of book. but I was obviously way off. I will give it a neutral review since I am sure that It could easily be someone's type. I do love Mo Rocca.

You don't have to have heard of Mo Rocca's podcast to get enjoyment from this book. I'm proof of that! I thoroughly enjoyed this book of interesting facts and small glimpses into the lives of extraordinary people (and other things: disco, certain famous trees, etc) who have passed on. You know how there are famous people that you have vague knowledge of and you feel like you already knew all you need to about them? Well, Rocca provides insight into their lives that has me adding random biographies to my TBR list! This is a fun book.

What an interesting way to learn about people and events that had an impact on society but were often largely ignored or misunderstood. I'd be happy to read a Volume 2 of this book.

Well-written book of many interesting people. It would be good to take this one in short bites as to remember everything.

Good for anyone who is interested in biographies.