Rumbles: A Curious History of the Gut

by Elsa Richardson

Have you ever had a gut feeling?
Found something hard to stomach?
Have you gone belly up under pressure?
Did you pull yourself together and show some guts?

The growls and gurgles of our digestive system are a constant reminder of the physical work it does to keep our bodies running. But throughout history, humans have puzzled over how this rowdy organ might influence us in other ways, from our emotional states and mental well-being to the decisions we make and even our sense of self.

Through Ancient Greece and Victorian England, eighteenth-century France and contemporary America, cultural historian Elsa Richardson leads us on a lively tour of all the ways we've tried to make sense of this endlessly fascinating (and sometimes embarrassing) body part.

From etiquette guides and diet advice to medieval alchemy and microbiology, she reveals that the gut-brain connection may be a modern obsession, but the question of whether we are ruled by our stomachs is as old as humanity itself.


A Financial Times most anticipated read for 2024

'A fascinating, erudite and entertaining journey through the gut-brain connection' -- Tiffany Watt Smith, author of The Book of Human Emotions

'A thrilling and surprising journey into the science and culture of an organ that refuses to be civilised' -- Paul Craddock, author of Spare Parts

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Science, Health, Medicine, Audiobook

332 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 9, 2024

Reviews

[Candie · Rating 1 out of 5]

A very disappointing book. The author spends a lot of time saying "this chapter is going to show you..." and "as we saw in the previous chapter...." but doesn't actually have much to say about the actual topic the book is supposed to be about. it's primarily a survey of previous literature and historical documents. Nothing new, interesting or compelling here.

[Camelia Rose]

(Jan 2025)

Paused after 40%. I was hoping for a gut science book or at least the history of gut science. Instead, it’s more of a social history of how society sees the gut. A lot of snippets of historical documents. The author digresses a lot. Might visit later.

[Sadhbh O'Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up. Interesting and well researched but not a compelling read.

[MaryJo Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a history of our stomach, the colon and organs comprising the gut, as it says in the subtitle. It is interesting and funny and is historical, describing what the ancient Greeks to the Victorians thought about the function of the gut. It spends little time on today so don't expect to learn much about how to treat this organ and take care of it with modern medicine. It reminded me of a little of the Mary Roach book "Gulp: adventures in the alimentary canal" but was more historical and less interested in the yuck factor although there was enough of that too.

[Brescia Mccumber · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is exactly what you think it is, I learned a lot about what/when/how people learned about the gut. It was interesting but unless this topic interests you I wouldn't recommend. I did struggle to finish this

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rumbles is packed with information. Elsa Richardson tells funny stories - I especially enjoyed how she opened each chapter with an entertaining anecdote from history. There is a lot in this book and sometimes she takes quick side trips that could be entire chapters themselves. To me its important to note that this "curious history of the gut" is mainly UK focused with some glancing references to Western European countries and America. I would imagine there is a different, equally interesting curious history of the gut for other countries. What struck me and caused me to pause and consider is how much culture affects how we think about our guts. History, cultural morals, societal control, norms and desires, even politics are tied in with how we feel about and deal with our guts. Very interesting! This book opens the door to more books, stories to share and research to discuss.

[Sherina Li · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came across the book in the Wellcome Center bookstore in London. The topic is very interesting. The book offered a unique perspective of examining a biological mechanism through a social, cultural, and political lens. I enjoyed learning about the history of digestion - how our understanding of it evolved and furthered through time. Ideas that I found particularly interesting: the scientific knowledge of the digestive process changed from mechanical to chemical, digestion drove modernization through sewage systems and the pursuit of sanitization, and lunch was an invention during industrialization (interestingly big tech companies still have cafeterias on-site nowadays). I hoped that the delivery could be more engaging and entertaining...

[Breanne McFall · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 of the fullest stars given for the amount of time and effort that must have gone into researching and creating this book! Unfortunately, this is not a read I enjoyed, and I found it SO boring and dry. I was hoping to get a fascinating exploration of the gut and more about the brain-gut connection, but that was not what this book was. It was an excellent historical review, but not a read I enjoyed.
Edited to add: the reviewer who said they wanted it to be a scientific history but it was more a social history was spot on!!

[Abbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was full of really interesting information.
While the author added in a lot of statements in what would be mentioned later or what was the focus, I still had a really hard time with the flow of information. It was all over the place

[robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of interesting stuff about the history, politics and culture about the digestive system. But very little about the current state of our knowledge about our gut. Surprisingly, not even a mention about stomach ulcers. Elsa just rambled and rumbled about way too much.

[Hansel5 · Rating 5 out of 5]

While waiting for the next book to arrive from CPL, I picked this one up from borrowing shelf at the office.
I enjoyed it. A good survey of what the stomach has symbolized through the history of humanity. Most things resonated. It was light and alright.

[Nathan Sells · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF - This reads more like the ill sorted notes for a book than a book itself.

[Emily Mellow]

I only read 7%, and it might be a perfectly good book, but it wasn't the book for me.

[Karen Alv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting look into the beliefs that people have had about the gut and it's connection to human life. To doubt that the gut is a second brain is to doubt one's ability to feel emotion.

[Alena Navarro]

This book spent too much time talking about what the book was about rather than actually being about it.

[Eleanor Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a dense read, but a lot of interesting things.

[marz]

thesis is NOT going well…

[Linda Sander · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the title indicates, this is indeed a curious history of the gut or, more accurately, the digestive system as a whole.

Throughout history, the sounds, odors, emanations, effluents, and eventually the entrails of the system have all been used to predict and /or explain health or disease. At present, it is the microscopic inhabitants of the gut that are of much interest.

While the purpose of the book - to explain these various uses - is admirable, the length of time devoted to each use is excessive.