From beloved CBS Sunday Morning correspondent and humorist Mo Rocca, an entertaining and rigorously researched book that celebrates the dead people who have long fascinated him. Mo Rocca has always loved obituaries–reading about the remarkable lives of global leaders, Hollywood heavyweights, and innovators who changed the world. But not every notable life has gotten the send-off it deserves. … gotten the send-off it deserves. His quest to right that wrong inspired Mobituaries, his #1 hit podcast. Now with Mobituaries, the book, he has gone much further, with all new essays on artists, entertainers, sports stars, political pioneers, founding fathers, and more. Even if you know the names, you’ve never understood why they matter…until now.
Take Herbert Hoover: before he was president, he was the “Great Humanitarian,” the man who saved tens of millions from starvation. But after less than a year in the White House, the stock market crashed, and all the good he had done seemed to be forgotten. Then there’s Marlene Dietrich, well remembered as a screen goddess, less remembered as a great patriot. Alongside American servicemen on the front lines during World War II, she risked her life to help defeat the Nazis of her native Germany. And what about Billy Carter and history’s unruly presidential brothers? Were they ne’er-do-well liabilities…or secret weapons? Plus, Mobits for dead sports teams, dead countries, the dearly departed station wagon, and dragons. Yes, dragons.
Rocca is an expert researcher and storyteller. He draws on these skills here. With his dogged reporting and trademark wit, Rocca brings these men and women back to life like no one else can. Mobituaries is an insightful and unconventional account of the people who made life worth living for the rest of us, one that asks us to think about who gets remembered, and why.
more
Mo Rocca has given us a candy bowl of tasty morsels: tales of fascinating folks that we don’t know enough about. It’s a joy for curious minds, and addictive reading.
I’m dead keen to read it and alive with joy at not being included.
I wasn’t sure what to think going into this – I’d heard a piece on NPR about the book and it sounded interesting, but I think I was expecting an obituary in traditional form with humorous content. What I got instead was something much, much better. Mo Rocca does for obituaries what Bill Bryson does for travel – he infuses them with a lot of research and a good deal of humor. If you read this book and don’t learn something you should go on Jeopardy immediately. From our Founding Fathers (First Tier and otherwise) to movie stars and their off-screen accomplishments, there is something here for almost everyone – an excellent window into our past as a nation/culture – and to our own mortality. (I can’t tell you how many times I thought, “this person is dead?” or “this person has been dead for ‘how’ long?” If giving these great lives a second chance was the goal, Mr. Rocca has made a book to die for.
Mobituaries by Mo Rocca is an ingenious and hilarious book written by Mr Rocca himself (he is just so downright witty ) and is so full of interesting facts and history that one does not even realize how much they are learning until they finish the book and say , “Wow. I cant believe I never knew that”.
This book was so interesting that I was able to read it in 2 days. This man is comical, engaging, brilliant, and thought-provoking.
I am impressed with this read and am determined to seek out more sources involving Mo Rocca so that I can become engaged yet again in his hilarious educational presentations. Only he would be able to keep me this engaged and entertained while learning. He most certainly has a gift.
5/5 stars
Once again Mo Rocca delivers a funny and smart offering whilst punning off his first name.
I was intrigued when I saw this on NetGalley, I’ve always loved history and pop culture, I even majored in history while in college, so I knew that I wanted to read it. When I found out that I was going be able to review, I was excited and started on it as soon as I could. It was interesting to see Mr. Rocca’s take on history and the people who made it. I loved his writing style and will definitely be checking out his Mobituaries podcast.
It was interesting to read the back stories of some of the people. Like the fact that Herbert Hoover was called, “The Great Humanitarian”, or the snippets of Audrey Hepburn’s life growing up and how that made her the way she was as an adult. Her work with Unicef as a humanitarian. There were so many stories told, that the book keeps you sucked in. You wanted to know more about each person.
It’s not just people though. There’s dragons, cars, even countries. Mr. Rocca has a particular wit about him that I enjoyed, and will definitely be checking out not only his podcast, but also All the Presidents’ Pets. Very witty writing, while imparting great knowledge, it’s almost like you really aren’t learning, you’re having fun. Thank you so much for this story.
*I received an ARC from NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.
historical-figures, historical-research, history, verbal-humor, world-history
People, places, things, TV shows, and more! Anyone who has any kind of interest in any kind of history will geek this book as much as I do. I never had a lot of interest in TV (working off shifts is part of it) so I’ve never seen the author’s contributions there, but I have now subscribed to the Mobituaries podcasts. I’m tempted to list the chapter headings, but that would get crazy. So, I’ll just leave you with the idea that this is a great read and also a great gift.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Simon and Schuster Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.
This is a quirky book written by Mo Rocca, CBS Sunday Morning correspondent and humorist, paying homage to the people who fascinated him. This is also a book based on his podcast, which you may also want to add to your playlist. Apparently, Rocca has always loved obituaries. I must say I always found it morbid, but now in my later years if I happen across them in the local newspaper, I stop to read it and pay my respects. Rocca has taken an eclectic look at some global leaders, first to’s, Hollywood stars, innovators, television programs, objects, ideas and beliefs that didn’t receive the utmost respect in their passing.
It appears the research done by Rocca is extensive, on a vast array of subjects which I found utterly fascinating. Some of my favorites:
Herbert Hoover. My knowledge of him is that he responsible for Hoovervilles during the Great Depression. But before his presidency, he was the Great Humanitarian who saved tens of millions from starvation. That legacy was wiped out by the Great Depression, and history books don’t remember him kindly.
Chang and Eng Bunker. While they were a sideshow curiosity, they went on to become very successful and wealthy entrepreneurs.
Sammy Davis Jr. Do you know how he lost his eye?
Beau Brummell. Interesting tale of chapeau-wearing Macaronis and the song Yankee Doodle Dandy.
Prussia. Learn how an entire kingdom disappears.
New Jersey Rest Stops. Who knew my home state had such historic pit stops?
Presidents Behaving Badly. I think we knew.
And some other oddities along the way, like station wagons, Frankenberry cereal, the long S and missing body parts of famous people.
Like I said, this quirky book is entertaining, witty and educational, and I’m sure you will enjoy it!
This one did not wind up being what I expected at all. I like Mo Rocca, but like a couple of the other reviewers, think a big part of why I like him is his timing and delivery – neither of which come across very well in a printed word format. If he was reading the audiobook, this would probably be a lot more engaging. I also felt like a lot of what he wrote was not what I expected – to me, obituaries are not lengthy historical narratives written like textbooks. They are shorter and pithier, and that is not what a lot of these presentations are. That’s not to say that they’re poorly written or uninteresting, they just weren’t at all what I expected. It made it difficult to read in long bursts. This is the second book-from-podcasts I’ve read recently and they’re reaffirming why I’m not a fan of podcasts… If you are a fan of that format and like your reading in shorter bursts as opposed to longer narratives that draw you in and won’t let you go, you are probably a better audience for this one than I was…
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy.
What a witty, entertaining read. I’d listened to some of the podcasts, but there’s so much more information in the Mobituaries book. I love the little zingers thrown in. You’ll be reading something super serious, and then Mo tosses in a very funny aside that will have you laughing out loud. A fun read!
Mobituaries is a book that will teach you about history as you chuckle.
Mo Rocca does an amazing job at informing the reader about different people such as Thomas Payne and Sammy Davis, Jr. in an interesting and exciting manner. He follows that information with additional information that should be contained in a proper obituary.
These are fascinating. For instance, Mo tells us about earlier use of a long S in American writing and the death of the station wagon. McDonalds’ drinking glass demise is covered under “…and other things from the 1970s that could’ve killed us.” This is an enjoyable book by a fun and optimistic journalistic (nod to his father intended).
I received an ARC from Quarto Publishing through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.
This is a keep on your table fact finder of a book. You learn even more about things you already thought you knew.
This is probably best as a book you put out for the “occasional” read, so that the reader can peruse it for the people or things they find the most interesting. Each short chapter reads more like the research information and/or script that would accompany the podcast of Mobituaries, and as such is best read in short spurts. I believe the book would also be preferable as an audiobook one might choose to listen to as they do their daily exercises for example.
As someone who has enjoyed various reports from Mo Rocca, particularly on CBS Sunday Morning, I could often hear his voice giving the information, particularly when he would interject some of his clever, dry humor. Those were, perhaps, the best passages for me, with one exception. As an Auburn University alumna, I enjoyed reading his information that gave the history of Auburn’s famous tradition of papering Toomer’s corners and the story of how the trees were poisoned by a somewhat overzealous (to put it politely) Alabama fan.
It was also interesting to me to learn the history of the two schools, which went a long way toward explaining the great divide. Not being a native of the state, I never quite understood the depth of passion that I often found existed between the two sets of supporters. The MOBITUARIES’ chapter gave me an insight I didn’t have before, and also is the best example for why I think this book is best for those who want to look in depth at a particular subject or individual. I could easily see this book in a doctor’s waiting room, on a coffee table, or in the basket of “while you’re here” reading people sometimes put in their bathroom.
My thanks to Simon and Schuster Publishing and NetGalley for providing me an Advanced Digital Read copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.