Here's an event you won't want to miss. Dave Praeger, author of "Poop Culture: How America Is Shaped by Its Grossest National Product," will be reading from his book at the Park Slope Barnes & Noble on Wednesday, September 5, 7:00 PM. Despite the cheeky title, the book is a meticulously researched treatise on how changes in human waste disposal technology have altered the broader culture. In the author's own words:
Poop Culture is a funny book, of course. Given the subject, how could it
not be? But it's also a heavily researched analysis of something that
rarely receives serious consideration. Poop Culture's main focus is the
true origin of the flush toilet: invented not for sanitary reasons, as
conventional wisdom holds, but rather as a tool to help rich Victorians
separate themselves from the upwardly-mobile masses during the
Industrial Revolution. From that basis, Poop Culture explores how the
ideology of waste disposal affects us today in our psychology,
sociology, art, economics, the environment, and more.
I'll be touching on many of those issues on during my reading. Chances
are I'll even touch on the sewage issues in the Gowanus during storms
and the reported potential for the Atlantic Yards to overwhelm the
area's sewage capacity. It'll be a fun and fascinating (and rated PG)
event.
Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the reading. However, the author has agreed to be interviewed by me for a podcast which should air sometime next week. Stay tuned.
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