by Rose George
First published 2008
Human waste remains a global taboo despite affecting every person on Earth. Rose George breaks this silence by investigating how societies manage bodily waste across vastly different conditions. She descends into the aging sewer systems beneath Paris, London, and New York, revealing infrastructure on the verge of collapse. In Indian slums, she documents how sixty thousand people share just ten toilets. George examines China's five million biogas digesters that convert waste into energy and profiles sanitation activists working in developing nations. She meets the inventor of the Car Loo and observes U.S. Army soldiers using personal lasers to destroy their waste in combat zones. The book exposes how waste-related diseases kill more people annually than any other single cause, while nearly two million Americans lack indoor toilets. George combines sharp humor with serious advocacy, transforming an avoided subject into an urgent public health crisis that demands attention and action.
Genres: science, social-issues, non-fiction, health
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking, urgent
Tropes: advocacy, informative
Setting: Paris, London, New York, India, China, United States
Period: 21st-century
238 pages · Hardcover · Metropolitan Books