The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters
Jul 2024 · Macmillan + ORM
3.7star
7 reviewsreport
Ebook
302
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
About this ebook
An "extraordinary" look at the stubborn problem of human waste disposal: "Among the best nonfiction books of the new millennium." — The New York Times
Acclaimed as "valuable and often entertaining" ( Los Angeles Times), The Big Necessity defies the taboo on bodily waste—something common to all and as natural as breathing. We prefer not to talk about it, but we should—even those of us who take care of our business in pristine, sanitary conditions. Disease spread by waste kills more people worldwide every year than any other single cause of death. Even in America, nearly two million people have no access to an indoor toilet. Yet the subject remains unmentionable.
Moving from the underground sewers of Paris, London, and New York (an infrastructure disaster waiting to happen) to an Indian slum where ten toilets are shared by 60,000 people, The Big Necessity breaks the silence, revealing everything that matters about how people do—and don't—deal with their own waste. With razor-sharp wit and crusading urgency, mixing levity with gravity, Rose George has turned the subject we like to avoid into a cause with the most serious of consequences.
"One smart book . . . delving deep into the history and implications of a daily act that dare not speak its name." — Newsweek
"Makes a passionate argument for putting sanitation at the top of the world's development agenda." — Time
"With irreverence and pungent detail, George breaks the embarrassed silence over the economic, political, social and environmental problems of human waste disposal. Full of fascinating facts . . . an intrepid, erudite and entertaining journey through the public consequences of this most private behavior." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Acclaimed as "valuable and often entertaining" ( Los Angeles Times), The Big Necessity defies the taboo on bodily waste—something common to all and as natural as breathing. We prefer not to talk about it, but we should—even those of us who take care of our business in pristine, sanitary conditions. Disease spread by waste kills more people worldwide every year than any other single cause of death. Even in America, nearly two million people have no access to an indoor toilet. Yet the subject remains unmentionable.
Moving from the underground sewers of Paris, London, and New York (an infrastructure disaster waiting to happen) to an Indian slum where ten toilets are shared by 60,000 people, The Big Necessity breaks the silence, revealing everything that matters about how people do—and don't—deal with their own waste. With razor-sharp wit and crusading urgency, mixing levity with gravity, Rose George has turned the subject we like to avoid into a cause with the most serious of consequences.
"One smart book . . . delving deep into the history and implications of a daily act that dare not speak its name." — Newsweek
"Makes a passionate argument for putting sanitation at the top of the world's development agenda." — Time
"With irreverence and pungent detail, George breaks the embarrassed silence over the economic, political, social and environmental problems of human waste disposal. Full of fascinating facts . . . an intrepid, erudite and entertaining journey through the public consequences of this most private behavior." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Ratings and reviews
3.7
7 reviews
Connor Holland
- Flag inappropriate
August 14, 2013
WHERE'S THE PHUKIN SAMPLE? TABLE OF CONTENTS AND INCIDENTALS ARE INSUFFICIENT MUST,AT MINIMUM, BE INTRODUCTION, PREFACE,ETC.
About the author
Rose George is a freelance writer and journalist who has written for The New York Times, Slate, and The Guardian. She lives in London.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
