Who Goes There?: A Cultural History of Heaven and Hell

Princess Diana, John Ritter, Saddam Hussein, Mother Teresa, Chris Farley… Does it seem reasonable to guess where each of these people ended up after they died? While it is comforting to suppose that everyone who’s “good” goes to a better place when they die, and everyone who’s “bad” doesn’t, on what is that hope based? To adequately understand how these thoughts influence us today, Rebecca Price Janney goes back to the colonization and founding of the United States. From the Great Awakening to the American Revolution, through the tumultuous 19th century, and all the way past two world wars and a technological revolution, Who Goes There? pieces together a thoughtful narrative of American beliefs about the afterlife.