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

This was one of the most interesting, enlightening books that I have read in awhile! My bachelor's degree is in biological sciences, but I am a civil rights lawyer, so I appreciated her approach that touched on not just the science, but also public policy and human rights issues implicated by waste and sanitation practices. Definitely a book for people who are fans of anything written by Mary Roach- it's not a PhD dissertation, of course, but it does a pretty great job at at least opening the door (and then some) on any single issue discussed in the book. Chapters are more or less organized by country and the issues faced there currently and historically. I got some weird looks every time someone asked what I was reading at the pool this summer, but it also sparked some frank, interesting conversations with others who recognize the tremendous importance of these issues, worldwide. Since this book is heavy on annual statistics, my only very minor issue is that in 2016, some of the information was a bit dated or left me wanting to know updated statistics, for example, whether certain countries met NGO/WHO goals for sanitation by whatever year that has now passed- not a criticism of the book, as I was aware that this book was a bit dated by the time I picked it up. Highly recommended, nonetheless!

Well written and surprisingly dryly funny at times. The humor unfortunately does not balance out the depressing state of sanitation in the world. The book is full of facts concerning how the world deals with excrement and the history of toilets and sewers. Actually more facts than you might want to read. Obviously something has to be done to change the path the world is on about how it deals with safe sanitation. The book does not imply that there is much hope that this will happen. The one fault I have with the book is it is an older book and the facts are very outdated. My fear is that the facts, if updated today, are probably still as bad or worse.

What is the cheapest toilet in developing countries? It is a plastic bag. "Kenyans call them helicopter toilets. Tanzanians prefer flying toilets. Whatever the name, the technique is the same..." Go. Wrap. Throw.The plastic bag is one step up from open defecation, which according to the author, is still widely practiced in India.We live in what the author calls a `flushed and plumbed' nation. It is hard to believe that 2.6 billion people must do without a toilet--what the U.N. delicately refers to as `access to clean water.' However, we Americans shouldn't be congratulating ourselves on our bathroom habits. Really advanced countries like Japan think that toilet paper is gross. "Japanese toilets can, variously, check your blood pressure, play music, wash and dry your [back and front parts] by means of an in-toilet nozzle that sprays water and warm air, suck smelly ions from the air, switch on a light for you...put the seat lid down for you (a function known as the `marriage-saver'), and flush away your excreta without requiring anything as old-fashioned as a tank.""The Big Necessity" is a serious book about "the unmentionable world of human waste and why it matters." Rose George, its author is by turns courageous, humorous (although she tries hard to avoid potty jokes), and indefatigable. Different chapters find her exploring the sewage disposal systems (or lack thereof) in Thailand, China, India, Africa, and even the sewers of London (37,000 miles) and New York (6,000 miles).She also has a genius for the telling anecdote: when describing a slum family in Nehru Nagar, India she says: "They had one dim room for six people, smaller than the average American parking space..."When struggling into a pair of `crotch-high waders' in preparation for her trip into a London sewer, she makes mention of "the online Yahoo! Sewer-boots fetish group..."If you don't believe `waste matters' just take a look at Zimbabwe, which used to have one of the best waste disposal systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its sewage system was neglected by an inept government, and now over 3,000 citizens (as of 02/01/2009) have died of cholera. The same thing could happen in London or New York City. It almost did happen in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. This really is an important book.

this is a necessary and important subject, but do you need a whole book on it? Some of the later chapters are hard to get through.