Death and architecture : an introduction to funerary and commemorative buildings in the western European tradition, with some consideration of their settings
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Death and architecture : an introduction to funerary and commemorative buildings in the western European tradition, with some consideration of their settings
Sutton, 2002
New rev. ed
Available at 2 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Previous ed. 1993
Bibliography: p. 378-400
Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Funerary monuments - whether the pyramids of ancient Egypt, the chambered cairns of prehistoric Orkney or the Canadian War Memorial at Vimy Ridge - are among the most potent architectural monuments. Bearing witness to our uneasy acknowledgement of mortality and our desire to remember those who have died, tombs and monuments are often among the finest structures erected by man. The subjects of funerary architecture, of commemorative structures and of cemeteries have suffered a curious neglect at the hands of writers until fairly recently, and it is James Stevens Curl's work that is partly responsible for arousing a new interest in them. In a wide-ranging and stimulating survey, Professor Curl explores the extraordinary legacy of funerary monuments from ancient Egypt to modern town planners' schemes for twenty-storey tower-blocks for the storage of coffins and urns (not a bad idea when we consider how inappropriate are tower-blocks as dwellings for the living). As much a commentary on attitudes to death as a history of architecture, Death and Architecture reveals many hidden wonders and beauties throughout the world.
A fascinating and unusual book, it will be treasured by all who agree with George Crabbe's line 'But monuments themselves memorials need'.
by "Nielsen BookData"