To capture the ironies, poignancies, and soulful idiosyncrasies of the grave sites pictured in this book, William Greiner spent several years traversing the cemeteries of New Orleans and South Louisiana....Despite Greiner's obvious debt to William Eggleston, who is often cited as the father of modern color photography, his photographs stand out as originals. The compositions are provocative, and he renders garish colors into a lushly seductive palette..... Mr. Greiner's small, Louisiana-style models of the barren earth combine with Thomas Lynch's elegant foreward to make The Reposed a fascinating book. Nov/Dec 1999

William Greiner's first monograph is a welcome selection of photographs from his many years of work in color. Greiner's view of the world, mainly in his native Louisiana, is alternately witty, tender and rhetorical. THE REPOSED is a book that the viewer will want to look at again and again.

-- Deborah Bell, Private Dealer of Photographs, New York City

If one picture is worth a thousand words, then this book is worth sixty two thousands words to describe the surreal photographs. Definitely not enough room here to convey what I think is a remarkable look at cemeteries in and around New Orleans. William Greiner is a genius with a camera,who has taken the cemetery photograph and made it into a haunting, beautiful work of art.

I would classify this book as unique!

Not just the ground breaking design that is detailed, but the coverage of many aspects of the development have made it one of the best hydrofoil books I have ever read.

The text covers the design process, the costs, the delays and problems along the way as well as highlighting the successes and is written from a first hand perspective.

Well worth picking up if you can find a copy.

Thomas Lynch is one of the great poets of our time. "Skating with Heather Grace" made me laugh, cry, think about life... and death... and the time in between. Even if you do not like poetry, you will enjoy this book. I have never read a poet more honest and creative than Lynch. Two of my personal favorite poems of the book (I have many) are called "Where it Came From" and "Woman Gardening." This would be an excellent place to start for someone first reading Lynch. It shows how clever he is as well as the great sensitivity he posesses for describing a singular emotional feeling. If at all possible, finish with "Learning Gravity," a brilliant poem (and the longest of the book - most are very short). It's a poem that can only be deeply appreciated when you get to know the author and his style as well as disposition. Don't be upset because he is an undertaker by trade. While that plays heavily in the book it is not the defining aspect of the man and his poems. Very Highly Recommended!!!!!

In The Word Of The Light, Thomas and Cynthia Lynch collaboratively strive to answer a series of profound questions that have troubled humanity since the dawn of sapience: Why do we live? How can we make the most of our lives? How can we live together? Based on the sacred scriptures of the five largest religious traditions worldwide, The Word Of The Light is an all-encompassing discourse about opening oneself to the love of the Divine. A profound, caring, deeply spiritual book of wisdom and lore, The Word Of The Light is strongly recommended reading for anyone seeking spiritual enlightenment and answers to the core questions of human existence.

So, here I was, suspended between the wonderous and terrifying Christmas holy day, and the equally awesome coming of the New Year, wholly of our own making, mind you--trying to eke out a few moments of quiet peace, reading a library book. At the dining room table. In the twinkling magic blue and yellow and red and green lights of the Tree, glowing in post Christ-be-born blush. Sipping a wine. Or two.
The book I'd chosen for the title, and the fact that its author wore a bow tie and hat in the photo on the back cover. When do you see that anymore? And ... "Bodies in Motion and At Rest." Who could resist?
I'm now at the last essay. Thomas Lynch has an easy way of writing that belies the intricacy, the layer, the pull of century and legacy enriching each word. He has embroidered this pillow with care, and a true needle, and stuffed it full--though it is not always comfortable, it satisfies the soul. Recline, and enjoy.

I take issue with the above Amazon.com review somewhat. While it's true that throughout the book, Lynch makes repeated comparisons to a variety of topical matters (Y2K, The Internet, Microsoft), this is probably simply due to the fact that this is a collection of essays that were written at different times. And as anyone who was conscious a year ago will tell you - Y2K and Bill Gates were at the tip of everyone's tongue! It's the job of essayists like Lynch to consider current popular culture and assimiliate it into their work.

I enjoyed the book very much. Lynch is a passionate writer who attacks the work with a poet's sensibility, carefully crafting sentences that are articulate, and better yet, emotionally satisfying. Unfortunately, to me, this turned out out also to be the book's biggest bane. Lynch, the "poet-undertaker" seems to be acutely enamored of his own voice. His prowess as a poet is remarkable, which is perhaps the reason that he exercises very little restraint when infusing his essays with his own poetry or the poetry of other, considerably lesser known poets. Like anyone who struggles for their art, Lynch laments the virtual apathy poets and poetry is shown by society at large, and therefore seens compelled to inject this poetry into the work wherever and whenever possible. To me, it undermines the collection, one that otherwise it truly sincere, poignant, and frequently funny.

Mr. Lynch returns with a treatise on life, love & death.

I recall my early books and the instructors who taught me to look at words, sentances and paragraphs that make up a story. Mr. Lynch appears to pour over his words in a successful effort to make my mind enjoy this book.

I alternatively chuckle, smile, cry and breathe heavy while mind goes places with Mr. Lynch.

A fine book.

Still Life in Milford is a book of poetry firmly planted in Catholic culture, firmly Midwestern, firmly small town. Yet Lynch writes poetry with universal meaning - accessible to those neither Catholic, Midwestern nor small town. Like many similar works, it plays off "Catholic guilt"; unlike some works it truly "plays" - it has a sense of humor regarding youthful understandings and preoccupations while recognizing that the youth is the basis for the adult understanding.

An especially touching piece is "The Moveen Notebook" - based on family history and the inheritence of the "home place" in Ireland. It begins: "When I first came, the old dog barked me back, / all fang and bristle and feigned attack." The strength of the poem is in it masterful use of the ordinary - but what an enjoyable "ordinary" to read.

Mr. Lynch delivers the goods for this relic of 20th century Roman Catholicism. Expert at poetry, life & death; Mr. Lynch took me places that I sometimes did not want to go while reading this compilation. Enjoy this over & over!

What a great book of poems. Buy it, read it to laugh and even sympathise with the writers grief. a fresh out look from a unique man.

Life Studies from the Dismal Trade is the subtitle of Thomas Lynch's extraordinary collection of essays. It says far more about the substance of this book than the title itself.

Lynch is the sole funeral director in Milford, Michigan. As such, as he states in his opening, he "buries a couple of hundred of his towns people". It is not, an occasional aside notwithstanding, the technical aspects of his job that lynch focuses on here, however. As the subtitle suggests, it is the living that concern Mr. Lynch, and, in fact, as an undertaker, it is the living, not the dead, he truly serves. For, as he is wont to point out, the dead don't care.

The living, on the other hand, care a great deal. Especially in cases of tragic, unforeseen death. The young murder victim's family, the suicide's family, and so on.

Mr. Lynch is a published poet. So his essays are not the dry stuff of technical journals, but rater elegant, philosophical expositions on the nature of death, the nature of survival, and the nature of his profession.

One would think that this would be a rather depressing read but, in fact, it is anything but.

I have recommended the book to many friends-boomers like myself with aging parents. Reading this book helped me to deal more effectively with my own parent's deaths. It helps one put some perspective on the rituals that we observe attendant to death. That it manages to inform and entertain as well is a remarkable achievement.

A poet who's day-job is that of an undertaker? Of course, what a perfectly natural combination. As Lynch himself points out, death is one of the staples of any poets repetoire.

Lynch is without a doubt an accomplished poet and as with many poets this has translated wonderfully to the world or prose. In The Undertaking, Lynch writes essays with an agility and fluidity that makes this collection a joy to read. But it is his dayjob, that of an undertaker which provides the wisdom and insight of this book. His day to day dealings with the dead (and their survivors) gives Lynch a calm understanding and appreciation of death and of life. The Undertaking, with the aid of some wonderfully colourful real-life characters, provides a moving meditation on life. Only occassionally does Lynch become slightly preachy when writing about abortion or assisted suicide - topics which he makes compelling arguements about. However you look at it, this is a powerful book and I highly recommend it.

I found this book to be most interesting! I had purchased it because I heard that the author was, indeed, an undertaker. I was interested to see what type of book he would write. I was pleasantly surprised. I have not read a book that has so thoroughly grasped the human experience. Thomas Lynch shows how life truly exists, as well as ceases to exist, and makes it seem all the more worth living. This book is one I would most definitely encourage others to read. I couldn't pull myself away. Many chapters left me utterly speechless, pondering the tribulations of the human condition. It sounds deep, but it does provoke thoughts that could lean in that direction. Thomas Lynch is an extremely gifted writer and poet, and I look forward to further books authored by him.

For $89 it would be nice to have an updated supplement (For example, page 36, paragraph 2 starts "The FCC has until August 8, 1996, in which to ....")

The CCMI LATA Map reprinted on pages 20-21 is not even half-toned and as a result is partially unreadable.

The actual text they wrote is only 170 pages. Don't get me wrong; they convey a lot of knowledge in those pages. However the rest of the 600 pages is the reprinted Telecomm Acts of 1934 and 1996 and two other outdated tables.

Welcome to the world of what I'd call low-volume trade press.