1: Reverend Jim
This book is a serious, direct treatment of the death care industry. It properly addresses the death care field as a business -- a fact to be kept in mind by all participants, especially consumers. Smith seems to be a true believer in free market capitalism and would like to see its principles applied thoroughly in death care. In early chapters, he provides a reasoned argument to set against the views of the late Jessica Mitford ("The American Way of Death Revisited"). Perhaps a little harsh on religion and clergy, Smith is generally fair. He understands that vulnerability of at-need customers and recommends pre-need arrangements. Thomas Lynch's "The Undertaking: Life Studies In The Dismal Trade" makes many of the same basic points in a much more readable format (without graphs and business-ese).
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