How did a knight wearing fifty pounds of armor go to the bathroom?
Book Summary:
Sarah Albee dives into the dirty side of history. She begins the book telling the reader why poop matters and why we should care about the history of poop. We should care because it is interesting and it is an “essential part of the history of human civilization” (p. 7). Each chapter of the book covers a different time period in history from the Egyptians to modern times. We learn that the Romans actually dug sewers and laid pipes to get rid of the waste. They also laid pipes to carry water. But with the fall of the Roman Empire their plumbing was left behind and the poop started piling up. Albee then proceeds to work her way through the poop history of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and Modern Times. She even informs the readers of how astronauts go to the bathroom in space. Throughout the book, there are sidebars with Icky Occupations, TMI (Too Much Information), Heroes of Hygenine, and lots of other really cool facts about poop, toilets, diseases, and clothing. “History will finally come out of the water closet in the exploration of how a human necessity shaped civilization from ancient times to the present” (back cover).
APA Reference:
Albee, S. (2010). Poop happened!: A history of the world from the bottom up. New York, NY: Walker.
Impressions:
This book might be one of my new all-time favorite books. It was so well-written and researched. It was interesting. It was gross. It was hilarious. It made me question things and I learned more about poop than I ever thought I needed to know. I loved the side bars and all the extra tidbits of information she gave you. It was enjoyable how Albee also engages with the reader by often asking questions and then answering them. Albee made what could be a very awkward and unpleasant topic something interesting and enjoyable. I do agree with the book review recommendation of grades 4-6. I think middle schoolers will eat this book up. I am super excited to share with book with my students, especially my boys. They will enjoy it immensely.
Professional Review:
Booklist (February 15, 2010 (Vol. 106, No. 12))
Grades 4-6. In an info-dump redolent with Gosh! Yuck! moments, Albee deposits a heaping history of human sanitation—or rather the lack thereof—and its effects. Developing the premise that three of the four means of spreading disease—air, water, touch, and insect bite—can be blamed on bad plumbing, she pumps out a steady stream of comments on the miasmic effects of urbanization, waste disposal, and the roles of (not) bathing in ancient Greece, Rome, medieval Europe (“The Age of Shovelry”), and the “Reeking Renaissance.” She then digs into the gradual adoption of better practices in the nineteenth century in response to recurrent epidemics of cholera and other horrors. The cartoon illustrations feature sludgy green highlights; frequent sidebars offer stomach-churning profiles of relevant “Icky Occupations”; and if systematic scholarship isn’t exactly her fecal—er, focal point (“Sorry about the Eurocentricity thing,” she burbles in the preface), she does close with generalized source notes. A good choice for readers who feel that Susan Goodman’s The Truth about Poop (2004) and Charise Mericle Harper’s Flush! The Scoop on Poop through the Ages (2007) haven’t quite squeezed the last drop out of the topic.
[Review of the book Poop happened: a history of the world from the bottom up, by Sarah Albee]. (2010, February 15). Booklist, 106, 12. Retrieved from http://www.titlewave.com
Library Uses:
Sarah Albee will Skype with students who have read her book for FREE!! I would set up a visit with her for students that have read the book. I would also ask Ms. Albee if it would be ok to record the session so that all of the students in our school would be able to see what it is like to visit with an author to encourage them to read more and be able to participate in the next author visit or Skype. Here is a link to Sarah Albee’s webpage.
Author Sarah Albee
Also, here is the book trailer that Albee created for her book.
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