The advance praise for this book from eminent scholars Jennifer T. Roberts, David Stuttard, and Paul Cartledge, printed on the rear of the dust jacket, calls this book ‘remarkable’, ‘vital and vivacious’, and a ‘splendid account’, and this reviewer concurs. Whilst written to appeal to a non-specialist audience, there is plenty here to stretch classical scholars, and the book is written in an approachable and entertaining way, proving that erudition can be communicated clearly.

Professor Garland moves outside of his acknowledged specialism of the ancient Greek ways of death, and writes a well-researched and thorough comparative from across the ancient world. Taking in ancient Egypt, ancient Mesopotamia, and also drawing heavily from biblical texts, there is much here for either the interested layperson or a student/scholar embarking upon a topic relating to death in the ancient world. Ancient sources are referenced in the endnotes, as are key secondary sources; a vital element that is sometimes missed from books aimed at the more popular reading market. Therefore, it is satisfying to note that a source of evidence that interests your own studies can be followed up independently, and the author’s notes also contain explanations and further scholarly suggestions. This aspect helps to bridge the gap between potential audiences for the study in a way that does not intrude upon the readability.

The book is split into 10 chapters plus an introduction, covering different aspects of death: ‘How Humans Came to Believe in an Afterlife’, ‘How to Achieve a Good Death’, and ‘How to Dispose of the Body’ being just three of these chapters which cover practical aspects as well as belief systems. Professor Garland’s extensive knowledge of how the ancient Greeks (and Romans) perceived, believed, and practically dealt with both a dead body and mourners is hugely apparent, and his discourse on other ancient societies is equally well researched and referenced. The evidence used is drawn from epic, historiography, and archaeology as well as religious texts, and enables the author to offer many comparisons and contrasts between belief systems and geographical areas. What is also acknowledged is where the evidence does not provide answers, rather more questions, such as those surrounding grave goods in a grave in the Skhul 5 burial in Israel, discussed on page 21; the author posits those questions, aligning himself with the reader in wondering why those goods were placed there, without pretending to know the definitive answer.

Where Professor Garland can unequivocally answer a question, he does. The material from the ancient Egyptians gives a clear belief system of what was needed and would happen in the afterlife, and the range of texts and archaeological evidence is marshalled logically to provide answers to the key questions of the given chapter. Whilst there is not always very detailed analysis of the evidence, which would feel inappropriate in this particular book and its target audience, there is sufficient analysis to allow scholars to have some understanding and further their own knowledge. For the interested layperson, the author has a very approachable and fluent writing style, and the humorous comments and quips give balance, stopping the text from feeling too sombre. His comment that the Egyptian embalmers were the only ones to benefit from the process (burying bodies in hot sand being a more effective means of mummification, and significantly cheaper) and that they ‘made a killing’ (p. 26) is just one example of the ease of wordplay utilised to make the topic more palatable. Nor does Professor Garland shy away from making the judgements that the modern reader might make about the evidence. When talking about ‘the communicative dead’ in the ninth chapter, ‘Living with the Dead’, the vituperative funerary inscription from Publius Vesonius Phileros is described as being from ‘[a]n insufferable individual’, which entirely fits the content that is then outlined. If ancient death shade is where your interest lies, then this book definitely contains evidence you will enjoy.

In short, this is an exemplary study of ancient death across different cultures, belief systems, geographical areas, and time; it delivers on ancient evidence, key scholarly sources, and an excellent, readable overview of key questions and topics surrounding ancient death. Whilst the approachable tone would appeal to the interested non-specialist reader, there is much to commend it for Classics teaching, particularly for approaching the topics outlined and finding a source base of evidence. For this reviewer, it was an enjoyable read which covered many topics and sources with which I was already familiar, but a great number of others with which I was not, and which are now added to my ‘to read’ list. I will be recommending it highly to my students who are interested in reading around or further researching topics on ancient death.