The Book Prize Index

The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade

Thomas Lynch

The American poet, Thomas Lynch, is also a funeral director in a small Michigan town, and this is his testimony. It comprises 12 essays - each a lesson taught to the living by the dead.

Memoir & AutobiographyMemoir & Autobiography · medium confidenceMemoir & Autobiography81 signalsLlm Classifier: Memoir & Autobiography -> Memoir & AutobiographyKeyword Classifier: American History -> American HistoryAward Category: Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize: Nonfiction -> Arts & CriticismLabor, Work & OrganizingBusiness, Capitalism & Corporations

Award History

1 wins · 2 total

AwardYearResultCategory / Notes
Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize: Nonfiction1997WinnerSecondary source
National Book Award for NonfictionMajor1997FinalistSecondary source
View all award history (2)
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies

This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact. Automated checks have flagged this profile for extra review.

  1. 01 Central figures

    • Thomas Lynch78%

  2. 02 Central places

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

    These suggestions did not meet the normal display threshold and are more likely to be wrong.

    • Michigan44%

  3. 03 Suggested argument

    No argument inferred with sufficient confidence.

  4. 04 Reading orientation

    30 / 100 academic

    Serious trade

    An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.

Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 66%.