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The Story of Shit by Midas Dekkers, translated by Nancy Forest-Flier

by
June-July 2018, no. 402

The Story of Shit by Midas Dekkers, translated by Nancy Forest-Flier

Text Publishing, $32.99 pb, 293 pp, 9781925355178

The Story of Shit by Midas Dekkers, translated by Nancy Forest-Flier

by
June-July 2018, no. 402

‘People who write books about shit are regarded with suspicion,’ declares Dutch biologist and writer Midas Dekkers. But like the dung- beetle-worshipping ancient Egyptians before him, Dekkers understands a fundamental truth: ‘The world is round and held together by shit.’

In The Story of Shit, Dekkers yanks the discreetest moments of our lives out of the bathroom and into the spotlight. He sees defecation not as a shameful bodily function, but as an integral part of being human – something enjoyable and even enriching. From toilet etiquette around the world to the uses of faeces throughout history to the science of digestion, he isn’t afraid to muck in and get his hands dirty.

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