Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things

by John C. Ryan, Alan Durning

Stuff follows a day in the life of a fictional, typical North American middle-class resident of Seattle. Nothing terribly unusual or dramatic happens. Unless you count average consumption–which Stuff does. Tracing back the layers of distribution, commerce, and production involved in everyday consumer goods Stuff is an engaging and fact-packed look at the people and places that are affected every time you sip your coffee, tie your shoes, click your mouse, step on the gas, or read a book.

In the process, you’ll find that what happens around the world to support a day in the life of an average northwesterner is not only dramatic, but disturbing. If you don’t know your stuff–and their secret lives–you don’t know your world.

Years after it was originally published, Stuff has sold more than 60,000 copies, and is read and taught in schools around the world. Most recently Stuff has been translated into Chinese and Korean, and has been used by Wal-Mart to educate their buyers about product life cycles.

Genres: Nonfiction, Environment, Science, Ecology, Planets, Technology

90 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

This is the disambiguation profile for otherwise unseparated authors publishing as John C. Ryan

See also:
John C. Ryan = Romance, Historical Fiction
John C. Ryan = Fiction, Biographical Fiction, WWII

Reviews

[Enerel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative!!! Sustainability class instructor required us to read this little 88 page book. I think everyone in his/her lifetime should read this book and try to be more eco-friendly.
Here's the ebook link: http://file.henrikedstrom.com/cps/SKM...
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[Marshall · Rating 2 out of 5]

This short little book goes through a handful of things most of us use every day and take for granted, like cars, computers, and food, and describes all the resources that went into creating and delivering them. That's why I read it, and insofar as it delivered, it was an interesting book. But most of it was just environmentalist moralizing, tsk-tsk-tsk, shame on you, you mean old consumers. Be "friendlier" to the Earth and clean up your act (as if the problem was unfriendliness and dirt.) This was especially interesting to read right after The Skeptical Environmentalist, which debunked many of the claims in this book and made them sound like empty platitudes by comparison.

[sana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cool book. Drives the point home that we live in a global world. It's a short and easy read

[Shelhorowitzgreenmkt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stuff walks through a typical day in the life of a hypothetical and typical Seattle adult, looking at both obvious and hidden environmental impacts. We get an inside look at global trade, as we go piece by piece through the making and use of a car, bicycle, cheeseburger, fries, newspaper, cup of coffee, aluminum soda can, computer chip, t-shirt—and this very greenly produced book (which still has significant environmental impact). The authors include suggestions at the end of every chapter for easy lifestyle changes that reduce consumption and waste—and some policy recommendations to make a much bigger difference.

While the book is exhaustively researched, the day-in-the-life approach keeps the story moving forward, and doesn’t bog us down in the details unless you want to read the nine pages of endnotes that provide al the sources. It’s an easy and quick read.It’s really important to have an understanding of just how much is involved in making one of these objects, and what price our earth pays when we acquire and use it.

And it’s also really good to see how many improvements the business world was starting to make by the time it was published in (gulp!) 1999—and how much farther down the road to sustainability we’ve come since then, at least in the making and use of one object. To name five among many examples, when this book was published,

* LED light bulbs were expensive and of horrible quality
* Hybrid and all-electric vehicles were rare; the original Honda Insight was the only hybrid available in the US, although Prius had been released in Japan (and yes, I am aware of the environmental issues around hybrid cars)
* Household solar was expensive, inefficient, and in limited supply
* Lumber and tote bags from recycled soda bottles were almost unknown
* The local food movement was tiny; CSA farms and even farmers markets had far less impact than they do now

The problem is that despite these huge increases in sustainable production and distribution since then, more people are getting more stuff—so the improvements in the environmental footprint of one unit for one household might be counterbalanced by the vastly increased number of units—and the number of trans-oceanic trips the components often make.

The book also points out that residential customers subsidize very eco-UNfriendly operations, such as aluminum smelting, which took 20 percent of all energy sold by the Northwest’s Bonneville Power Authority (p. 65)—and that people in the US account for just 5 percent of the world’s human population, but consumed 24 percent of the world’s energy and 13-39 percent of various other resources (pp. 67-68).

I don’t typically review a book that’s out of print—but it’s available as a Kindle. Even though the actual numbers are probably not accurate anymore, the concept of the book is, if anything, more applicable now than it was. Also, the book mentions that several portions are available at Sightline Institute, the environmental think-tank that produced the book, http://www.sightlineinstitute.com . The website is very much operational (and quite cool), though I wasn’t able to find the excerpts on a quick look.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read this book. It's short but it covers the gamut of environmental issues. Also touches on health, toxins, human rights and more. It gently helps you pause and think about ways you can reduce your impact, but it doesn't come across as judgmental at all. Yes, it's 20 years old, but the message still has power. Should be required reading for all.

[Lei Koopmans · Rating 2 out of 5]

STUFF, The Secret Lives of Everyday Things by John C. Ryan Alan Thein Durning

In this book, John explains the secret lives that everyday materials go through before becoming into their complete state. It is based on a typical North American day, and is detailed to the point that there is no single detail that could possibly be missing. He includes things like his morning coffee, his car and bike, and his shoes he wears. He explains how they are manufactured, and every step it took to become the state it is in now.

I really want to show that this book uses a lot of detail. For example, when he is talking about his bike, he says, “Three electrodes sent bolts of coaled-fired electricity through the metal, and intense heat melted the scrap.” All that stuff which you probably didn’t know about. Another example of how the author explains the making of everyday things is that he tells you where it is made. In the same part he says, “The 15 pounds of steel in my bike frame, wheels, and other parts began in a Chicago junkyard not far from the mini-mill.” These are just some of the millions of detailed parts in this book.

I want to carefully recommend this to people who really enjoy non-fiction books. This seems a bit broad but I say this because I, personally, did not enjoy this book because I am not a great fan of non-fiction. As I explained before, it has a lot of detail in it. If you don’t mind reading detail page after page, and rather enjoy it, then this is the book for you!

[bella cherise grape · Rating 2 out of 5]

read this for my anthropology class and it made me so depressed 😀😀😀 read at ur own risk and if a chapter is titled one of ur fav things get ready for it to be slightly ruined :/// but also so important to learn about the history behind our consumptions

[goldread ~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

on average, people in the US dispose of 5lbs. of waste every day.
this book breaks down the cycle that we take part in on a daily basis and it is pretty involved.
i can attribute this book in part, to the inspiration that i had to have one week out of every month where i do not purchase any products that have any thing to do with adding to the landfills, even eliminating recycleables; bringing reusable bags every where i go, eating at home, ect. it is quite challenging.
try it out if you like.

[Winifred · Rating 4 out of 5]

A group of us went out to lunch together and the topic of ordering vegetarian meal came up, and in turn this brought about the California water crisis. A friend brought in this book and introduced me to it, I am blown away that the information is from 1997 yet still holds true. How was I so not informed in my school days and not until recently was educated on the topic of consumption/earth balance/meat industry?

A good read for anyone who is willing to listen and reconsider their lifestyle from a new perspective.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

should be required reading for EVERY child in the 1st World. What we either never bother to think about or bluntly chose not to see this book highlights the hidden effects of EVERY SINGLE THING WE USE IN OUR DAILY LIVES... be it a cup of coffee... or the book itself that tells us all... very powerful and depressing... but STUFF WE GOTTA KNOW, More importantly, STUFF WE HAVE GOT TO OWN UP TO and BE RESPONSIBLE FOR.

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty good for what it was. It took some everyday activities and tracked in detail how all of the stuff involved was created. It didn't stress trying to change anyone (just a few comments here and there about how to reduce waste). It was more about creating awareness.

It's also not a terribly exciting book, but it's relatively short, just long enough to give some good examples without dragging on.

[Ramona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome little book! Easy read. Very informative! It goes over the resources used in making a specific product (e.g. a t-shirt, a hamburger, a newspaper, coffee, cars, etc), using it, and disposing of it. The information is presented in a fun, easy-to-read manner. I've assigned this as a textbook in a lot of my classes. Students really love it!

[Jason Marciak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ryan and Durning's Stuff is a must read for anyone interested in the full workings of their actions of consumption and production. It opens the mind to the full life of our objects and the effects that ideology of rampant, no holds barred capitalism has on the natural environment and civilization as a whole. An excellent read.

[Christa VG · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book about hoarders and some of the problems they face with getting rid of their things. Barriers in their minds that some people may not realize at all, and others see in themselves. One or two chapters were rather boring, but when she was talking about real stories I found it interesting.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book describes a lot about the supply chains of everyday goods and how they impact the environment. Though each chapter ends with suggestions about how to make things better, the overall tone of the book is nevertheless a bit down/depressing. Nevertheless, a decent read.

[Sophia · Rating 1 out of 5]

After reading the Zero Waste blog, learning about food issues, and reading other books about stuff and the environment, I don't think this adds much of anything new. But it was published in the late 90's, which may have inspired the resources I have access to today.

[Tia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick, fun, informative read that gives you a basic idea where all your everyday items come from, how they're made, and how many resources went into making them.

[Ming · Rating 3 out of 5]

imformative, but very discouraging

[Winston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good quick read. ya, where does the "stuff" of everyday come from. What is the foot print of my easy livin.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good. Hope they come out with an updated version.

[Danielle H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful and informative.

[Noel Pranoto · Rating 4 out of 5]

to live simple, as simplest as you can. that's modern human being should be.

[Lafcadio · Rating 3 out of 5]

All of the specifics about the stuff you sort of already knew. Made me think harder about my shoes.

[Jung · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somewhat depressing and pretty fascinating.

[Boobarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely a book everyone should read.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating little book.

[Jeff Youngstrom]

My review from April 18, 1997

[Nicole Deshazer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting but overall not what I expected