Anecdotal, inspiring, frequently amusing, and elegantly concise, the obituary page of The New York Times has earned a huge following. The Last Word is a fascinating compilation of 100 of the most colorful, entertaining, and touching obits that have appeared in the last few years.

The collection deliberately omits celebrities to concentrate on an eclectic mix of lesser-known men and women whose compelling lives have often changed the world they lived in. You may not have heard of Julian Hill, but he changed your life as the inventor of nylon. You'll meet others like him: a quiet man who braved the hostility of racists to integrate the University of Georgia; a woman who turned chopped liver into a million-dollar business; the man who gave the Beat Generation its very name; and a reclusive woman who turned a $5,000 nest egg into a $22 million fortune that she left to a school she never attended.

The collection also includes commentary by some of the Times's finest writers and contributors such as Jules Feiffer, William E. Geist, James Gleick, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Anna Quindlen, William Styron, and Wendy Wasserstein.