Short description:

The Encyclopedia of Death and Dying is the definitive reference source for death, dying and related concepts. It will prove an essential resource for teachers, researchers, professionals and all those with a lay interest in mortality.

Long description:

In recent years there has been a massive upsurge in academic, professional and lay interest in mortality. This is reflected in academic and professional literature, in the popular media and in the proliferation of professional roles and training courses associated with aspects of death and dying.
Until now the majority of reference material on death and dying has been designed for particular disciplinary audiences and has addressed only specific academic or professional concerns. There has been an urgent need for an authoritative but accessible reference work reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of the field. This Encyclopedia answers that need.
The Encyclopedia of Death and Dying consolidates and contextualizes the disparate research that has been carried out to date. The phenomena of death and dying and its related concepts are explored and explained in depth, from the approaches of varied disciplines and related professions in the arts, social sciences, humanities, medicine and the sciences.
In addition to scholars and students in the field-from anthropologists and sociologists to art and social historians - the Encyclopedia will be of interest to other professionals and practitioners whose work brings them into contact with dying, dead and bereaved people. It will be welcomed as the definitive death and dying reference source, and an essential tool for teaching, research and independent study.

'Rich and fascinating articles on all aspects of death and dying ... This work will enrich all academic and public library collections.' - Library Journal

'The book is a fine achievement, both interdisciplinary and multicultural in its scope. The entries are concise, clear and beautifully presented. There are also splendid illustrations. Cross-referencing is expert. It is not just a work of reference but also one to browse.' - TLS, August 2002

Table of Contents:

adolescence; afterlife; ageing; All Saints Day; All Souls' Day; angels; bereavement; Black Death; brain death; Buddhism; burial rites; cancer; care of the dying child; Catholicism; cot death; cremation; death instinct; Death Row; depression; disasters; drugs; Egypt, ancient; embalming; euthanasia; epitaphs; evil; fate and fatalism; fear; film; funerals; gas chambers; ghosts; good death; graves; Greece, ancient; healing; Heaven; Hell; Hinduism; immortality; Islam; Journal of Death Studies; Judaism; kamikaze; laying out; life support; longevity; medicine; meditation; memorial; mourning; near-death experiences; nursing homes; obituaries; old age; organ donation; out-of-body experience; pathology; pilgrimage; post-mortem rituals; psychology; reincarnation; Requiem Mass; resurrection; resuscitation; spiritual healing; suicide; superstitions; Tibetan Book of the Dead; transplants; Tutenkhamen; vampires; wakes; war memorials; widowhood;