Who is buried in Grant's Tomb? The answer to this old joke—and the story behind it—can be found in this well-written in-depth account of high-profile Americans whose remains were reburied for a number of surprising reasons. Generally, says Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Kammen (People of Paradox: An Inquiry Concerning the Origins of American Civilization
), reburial is “a figurative form of resurrection—primarily... of reputation.” Reburial can also symbolize reconciliation, whether familiar or national. Kammen explores the politics, mythology, and commercialization of the American practice of reburial. In some cases, long-forgotten remains became rare relics, most vividly in the case of Rhode Island founder Roger Williams, whose body slowly nourished the apple tree roots that grew around it taking the skeleton's shape while the bones themselves disappeared. The stealth reclamation of what Native Americans believed to be the remains of Sitting Bull contrasts with the more public, emotional restoration provided to the late Jefferson Davis. While situating the ritual of reburial within the American psyche, Kammen effectively captures the eternal dual fascination with greatness and with the dead, and the power of their conjunction in the burial of heroes. Photos. (May)
