Flushed: How the Plumber Saved Civilization

I have a list of books for people to learn history, especially ancient history and have fun! This is one of them. Also Salt, Cod, The History of the World in Six Glasses, Why Buildings Stand Up/Why Buildings Fall Down, Silk (Road), House...This book about hygiene makes you want to embrace your plumber in profound gratitude!

But it ran out of gas. Lot more detail, I'm sure, in the invention of the modern flush toilet than was given.

This is an enjoyable, easy read. I was looking for a bit more information concerning how we deal with human waste. I've remarked to myself that somehow a metropolitan area is dealing with the flushings of a few million people daily. How do we do that? This book didn't answer that question but gave a bit of a historical perspective and pointed out that many millions of people live without sewage treatment. He raised some future possiblities such as human waste as a fuel source which was all interesting and gave me a bit of a different perspective than prior to reading this. All in all it was enjoyable and informative but I still can't imagine how the world deals with all of this stuff.

This is a fascinating trip through history through the technological and social lens of plumbing and human waste disposal. It could the the textbook of a Western Civ course, i.e., what better way to track human development than through the means of waste disposal and personal hygiene, especially as they have influenced public health policy. Carter was a Rhodes Scholar (or one of those type of scholars) and is shows here. The book is written with a light touch and is thoroughly researched and funny as it is relevant to everyone.

When we recently had a pressure tank replaced, I gave this book to the plumber. He passed it around to others in their company so overall, it was good PR for me so that the next time I have an emergency - they won't forget me! Besides, Hod is a great writer and the book is full of very interesting tidbits of history. Without the advances in plumbing, we couldn't stand living with each other!

This book is humorous and full of historical facts. I am a plumber by trade and this is one of the only books that shows how important plumbing is to modern civilization. I give this book out to my plumbing apprenticeship students as a must read! Thank you Mr. Carter for such a wonderful book!

Hodding Carter's book provides a great mix of history, science, engineering, world politics, and, of course, bathroom humor. A fun and informative read for anyone who has looked at a toilet and wondered.

I purchased this book for a family member who is in the plumbing interesting. I didn’t read it personally but haven’t heard any negative feedback from him.

weak, he's missed lots of technical innovations. Very little on the cultural issues which define our attitudes to sanitation. the great "sitters" v "squatters" debate deserves a full chapter.

A good read for a novice or avg. plumber not having extensive history education. I was looking for stuff I had not already read, guess it isn't the books fault I'm a plumbing geek...

Hard cover book, cheaper than paperback.

This is a great book! I really appreciate plumbers now!