Polaroids from the Dead

Book excerpt: Douglas Coupland takes his sparkling literary talent in a new direction with this crackling collection of takes on life and death in North America -- from his sweeping portrait of Grateful Dead culture to the deaths of Kurt Cobain, Marilyn Monroe and the middle class. For years, Coupland's razor-sharp insights into what it means to be human in an age of technology have garnered the highest praise from fans and critics alike.At last, Coupland has assembled a wide variety of stories and personal "postcards" about pivotal people and places that have defined our modern lives.Polaroids from the Dead is a skillful combination of stories, fact and fiction -- keen outtakes on life in the late 20th century, exploring the recent past and a society obsessed with celebrity, crime and death.Princess Diana, Nicole Brown Simpson and Madonna are but some of the people scrutinized.