Clean, James Hamblin
Clean, James Hamblin
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Clean
The New Science of Skin

Author: James Hamblin

Narrator: Barrett Leddy

Unabridged: 7 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 07/21/2020


Synopsis

Named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR and Vanity Fair

One of Smithsonian's Ten Best Science Books of 2020

“A searching and vital explication of germ theory, social norms, and what the modern era is really doing to our bodies and our psyches.” —Vanity Fair

A preventative medicine physician and staff writer for The Atlantic explains the surprising and unintended effects of our hygiene practices in this informative and entertaining introduction to the new science of skin microbes and probiotics.
 
Keeping skin healthy is a booming industry, and yet it seems like almost no one agrees on what actually works. Confusing messages from health authorities and ineffective treatments have left many people desperate for reliable solutions. An enormous alternative industry is filling the void, selling products that are often of questionable safety and totally unknown effectiveness.

In Clean, doctor and journalist James Hamblin explores how we got here, examining the science and culture of how we care for our skin today. He talks to dermatologists, microbiologists, allergists, immunologists, aestheticians, bar-soap enthusiasts, venture capitalists, Amish people, theologians, and straight-up scam artists, trying to figure out what it really means to be clean. He even experiments with giving up showers entirely, and discovers that he is not alone.

Along the way, he realizes that most of our standards of cleanliness are less related to health than most people think. A major part of the picture has been missing: a little-known ecosystem known as the skin microbiome—the trillions of microbes that live on our skin and in our pores. These microbes are not dangerous; they’re more like an outer layer of skin that no one knew we had, and they influence everything from acne, eczema, and dry skin, to how we smell. The new goal of skin care will be to cultivate a healthy biome—and to embrace the meaning of “clean” in the natural sense. This can mean doing much less, saving time, money, energy, water, and plastic bottles in the process.

Lucid, accessible, and deeply researched, Clean explores the ongoing, radical change in the way we think about our skin, introducing readers to the emerging science that will be at the forefront of health and wellness conversations in coming years.

About The Author

James Hamblin, MD, MPH, is a staff writer at The Atlantic, a lecturer at the Yale School of Public Health, and a specialist in preventive medicine. He is the author of If Our Bodies Could Talk and hosted a video series of the same name. He’s based in Brooklyn, New York. He only uses soap on his hands.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Megan on April 21, 2020

Writing a book's first Goodreads review...always a little scary. I almost wish I could come back later when it's been talked about a bit and add my voice to the roar of others' rather than standing out, but I have a responsibility (thank you NetGalley for giving me a free eARC in exchange for this......more

Goodreads review by Lucas on July 30, 2020

The amount of times something from this book has come up in casual conversation has astonished me. For a guy who has only a bar of soap in his shower and doesn’t really think about hygiene or soap much beyond the basics, hygiene and soap seem to follow me around nonetheless. James Hamblin may descri......more

Goodreads review by Cass on October 06, 2020

Oh dear. James Hamblin is a lively and accessible writer. He's got a medical background. He's kind of a fun contrarian. He's a thoughtful researcher: I bet he's a great listener. His articles in The Atlantic are clear and cogent. What could go wrong? Sadly, this book is a lightweight. It's basically......more

Goodreads review by Jolanta (knygupė) on September 30, 2020

3.5* Knygos autorius rekomenduoja mums mažiau praustis ir stebėti kas vyksta su mūsų oda...Jis pats, pradėjęs rašyti šią knygą, nustojo praustis po dušu. Plauna tik atskiras kūno vietas. Kad per daug prausiamės ir naudojam daugiau nei reikia prausimosi ir kosmetikos priemonių -ne naujiena, šiaip jau.......more

Goodreads review by Shannon on May 13, 2020

We have all heard 'Less is more' In this new book, Hamblin takes this belief on in ways you wouldn't expect. He opens the book by telling the reader he stopped showering; which I admit, almost made me put the book down. I'm glad I heard him out & I think you will be too. The journey he takes to disc......more


Quotes

“Fun, interesting and credible.” —The New York Times Book Review

“A searching and vital explication of germ theory, social norms, and what the modern era is really doing to our bodies and our psyches.” —Vanity Fair

“A breezy social history with a health angle. . . . the science writing is accessible and articulate—graceful even—and there are some wonderful surprises” —The Wall Street Journal

"Deeply researched. . . . James Hamblin explores the history behind the human obsession with cleanliness and the colossal industry driving our current desire to scrub every inch of our bodies." —Smithsonian

"There’s a line. . . between how we lather up to avoid disease and how we scrub down to feel clean. Where you draw it may help or harm the microscopic creatures living on your body’s largest organ. Who better to investigate than a doctor and journalist who hasn’t showered in years? —NPR
 
“A fascinating, rich mix of science, marketing and culture that will have you questioning everything you think you know about your daily skincare routine.” —BookPage
 
“Fascinating . . . Hamblin takes us on a slippery ride through the soap marketing of the twentieth century, sharing some of the racial, class, and gender undertones many of us probably missed, and introduces us to fascinating people.” —Spirituality & Health

Clean is a thought-provoking and deeply-researched investigation into the life and times of our skin. From unraveling the history of soap to profiling our many microbes, Hamblin’s analysis is anything but skin deep.” —Bianca Bosker, author of Cork Dork

“James Hamblin’s characteristic mix of clarity and levity shine through every single page. You'll never think about your largest organ the same way again.” —David Epstein, author of Range and The Sports Gene

“A wide-ranging study that shows how cleanliness was not always next to godliness.” —Kirkus Reviews