The strange spectacle and macabre pageantry of the funerals of public figures hold a peculiar and undeniable fascination. What a Way to Go features two dozen of the most remarkable funerals of the century, profiling the lives and deaths of a wide range international figures from art and politics in a lively pop culture approach, from Josephine Baker to the Ayatollah Kohemeni to Evita to muppet creator Jim Henson (whose funeral was attended by Big Bird). Illustrated with rare and unusual photographs from the services and the subject's life, entries cover all the colourful details of each subject's life, death, funeral service and burial, with juicy tidbits like last words, conspiracies, odd coincidences, and secrets to the grave.