Silent Cities: the Evolution of the American Cemetery

"Through more than 350 beautiful color photographs, Silent Cities traces the development of the American cemetery, analyzing the effects of race, religion, class, and fashion on our architecture for the dead."--the publisher.

As telling about a society as skyscrapers and domestic architecture, yet rarely as discussed, are cemeteries, the architecture for the dead. Cemeteries not only reflect religious and cultural attitudes toward death, they also strikingly mirror the social structures of the living. This paperback volume examines, in text and color photos by acclaimed photographer Camilo José Vergara, the development of the American cemetery. Over 300 cemeteries are documented, including country and church graveyards, ethnic cemeteries, potter's fields, the famous Père-Lachaise in Paris, and Arlington National in Washington. Silent Cities offers a compelling examination of an often overlooked facet of architecture.