About the Book
"Mordantly wonderful." —CARL HIAASEN
"I almost died laughing." —ROZ CHAST
"My own departure would not be so bad if only Mr. Roberts could write the obit!" —KAI BIRD
From celebrated New York Times obituarist Sam Roberts, the art of the obit: Who we remember, how we forget, and where we find the true meaning in a life
After nearly a decade behind the obituaries desk at the paper of record, Roberts knows obits aren't really about deaths. In fact, they usually only mention dying once. Over the course of the nearly 1,500 obituaries he has written throughout his career, he has instead come to understand that they're about distilling an entire life lived—for someone whose name he may have learned that morning.
In Are They Dead Yet?, Roberts explores the major questions that arise from the task of producing a succinct yet record-defining account of a life. Who deserves an obituary, and how do we decide who gets one? How does an obituarist choose what to include—and to omit? What happens when embarrassing information, like a crime, affair, or wonky cause of death, makes itself known? What makes a legacy, a claim to fame? And what happens when that claim to fame, so important in death, isn’t what mattered in life at all?
With wit, wisdom, and behind-the-scenes intrigue, Roberts examines the practice of writing advance obituaries, of which there are more than 2,000 on hold and regularly updated at the New York Times, America's relationship to death in the wake of 9/11 and the pandemic, classic euphemistic language, and more. Through it all, Roberts brings his humor, shrewdness, and experience to prove what he has learned from a long career in death: There’s no such thing as an ordinary life.
About the Author :
Sam Roberts, a 50-year veteran of New York journalism, is an obituaries reporter and formerly the Urban Affairs correspondent at the New York Times. He has hosted the New York Times "Close Up” on TV and the podcasts "Only in New York," anthologized in a book of the same name, and "The Caucus." He is the author of The New Yorkers, A History of New York in 27 Buildings, A History of New York in 101 Objects, and Grand Central, among other books. He has written for the NYT Magazine, the New Republic, New York, Vanity Fair, Foreign Affairs, and Air Mail. A history adviser to Federal Hall, he lives in New York with his wife.
Review :
The sad decline of local newspapers means the near-extinction of full-time obituary writers. Sam Roberts, one of the best, does a mordantly wonderful job of dissecting the delicate craft of summing up the dead. Next time you’re invited to a funeral, stay home and read this book instead. You’ll get the gist.
Sam Roberts makes death seem hilarious and positively endearing. A master of the mini-biography, Roberts reminds us of the pleasures of the obituary page. It is all about the life—and the thought occurs to me that my own departure would not be so bad if only Mr. Roberts could write the obit!
Sam Roberts's Are They Dead Yet? is a must for anyone who loves obituaries. I almost died laughing.
It can be hard to admit that obituaries are one of your favorite parts of a paper. Sam Roberts is a maestro composer of the form, and here he gives us a long, loving look into how obits are created. Oddly, this book is fun!
"Are They Dead Yet? is amusing, informative, anecdotal, revelatory, digressive, surprising—I could go on, but I'll end with this: Death has never been so much fun.
Writing obituaries calls for a finely balanced blend of sensitivity, truth-telling, decorum, boldness, humanity, and philosophy . . . Few know the challenges of the job better than Sam Roberts, a (the?) leading obituary writer at The New York Times . . . An engrossing voyage through the practice of his trade.
An ingenious social history . . . [Roberts] is an ace at compact biography . . . An industrious researcher, mining fascinating nuggets—some profound, some just fun—from sources familiar and obscure.
[Roberts is] a scholar who’s read everything ever published on the city’s past and of a reporter who’s spent his career engaging its people . . . [The New Yorkers] abounds in rich portraits.
