The Big Necessity, Rose George
The Big Necessity, Rose George
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

The Big Necessity
The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters

Author: Rose George

Narrator: Karen Cass

Unabridged: 10 hr 32 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/26/2019

Synopsis

"One smart book . . . delving deep into the history and implications of a daily act that dare not speak its name." —NewsweekAcclaimed as "extraordinary" (The New York Times) and "a classic" (Los Angeles Times), The Big Necessity is on its way to removing 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.

About Rose George

Rose George is the author of The Big Necessity and Ninety Percent of Everything. A freelance journalist, she has written for The New York Times, Slate, and the Financial Times, among other publications. She lives in Yorkshire.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Will on July 19, 2023

Or as we call it, “The Poo Book.” If you are expecting a Mary Roach approach, forget it. While there are more than a couple of yucks in George’s book, they provide spice and not substance. This is a sober examination of a crucial public health matter. George offers plenty of supportive stats, withou......more

Goodreads review by John on December 04, 2013

If you glance over my previously listed books, you'll have noted that I'm on a "end of civilization as we know it" reading jag, and this book fits right into the series. In fact, in many ways it's the best of the lot. Excreting is something we all do and almost none of us like to think about it, let......more

Goodreads review by David on January 14, 2010

To be uninterested in the public toilet is to be uninterested in life. OK, folks. 2009 is over, and the results are in. There were plenty of honorable mentions in the nonfiction category for the year - Henry Alford's "How to Live", Alain de Boton's "The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work", and the Brafm......more

Goodreads review by Julie on April 18, 2009

With passion, humor and integrity, Rose George makes a rock-solid case for sanitation as the world's most critical development issue. Without easy access to safe and effective sanitation, communities cannot provide clean drinking water or food free from contamination or lower the risk of life-threat......more

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