It is from the discards of former civilizations that archaeologists have reconstructed most of what we know about the past, and it is through their examination of today's garbage that William Rathje and Cullen Murphy inform us of our present. "Rubbish!" is their witty and erudite investigation into all aspects of the phenomenon of garbage. Rathje and Murphy show what the study of garbage tells us about a population's demographics and buying habits. Along the way, they dispel the common myths about our "garbage crisis"--about fast-food packaging and disposable diapers, about biodegradable garbage and the acceleration of the average family's garbage output. They also suggest methods for dealing with the garbage we do have.
It is from the discards of former civilizations that archaeologists have reconstructed most of what we know about the past, and it is through their examination of today's garbage that William Rathje and Cullen Murphy inform us of our present. "Rubbish!" is their witty and erudite investigation into all aspects of the phenomenon of garbage. Rathje and Murphy show what the study of garbage tells us about a population's demographics and buying habits. Along the way, they dispel the common myths about our "garbage crisis"--about fast-food packaging and disposable diapers, about biodegradable garbage and the acceleration of the average family's garbage output. They also suggest methods for dealing with the garbage we do have.
William Rathje is Director of the Garbage Project in the
Bureau of Applied Reserach in Anthropology and Professor Emeritus
of Anthropology at the University of Arizona.
Cullen Murphy is Managing Editor of and a frequent
contributor to The Atlantic Monthly. He lives in Boston.
“A lucid and provocative book.”—New York Times Book Review
“A mother lode of valuable information . . . There ain’t no flies
on this book.”—Wall Street Journal
“[Rubbish!] demolishes myths that hamper our ability to act
sensibly; as a nice bonus, it entertains as it goes about its
business.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review
“Readers will be impressed by Rathje and Murphy’s delightfully
fresh take on the human foibles and the garbage heaps of
history.”—Washington Post Book World
“An almost joyous iconoclasm about a vexatious subject.”—Boston
Sunday Globe
“[Rathje and Murphy] cull from the record astonishing data to
counter many a myth. . . . A refreshing treatment of a subject not
usually associated with refreshment.”—Kirkus Reviews
“This lively study is an informative and often entertaining
introduction to the science of garbology.”—Contemporary Sociology
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