Dirt: A Social History As Seen Through The Uses And Abuses Of Dirt

by Terence McLaughlin

Dirt, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. It is, Terence McLaughlin suggests, "evidence of the imperfections of life, a constant reminder of change and decay. It is the dark side of all human activities --human because it is only in our judgements that things are dirty; ther is no such material as absolute dirt." Dirt comes in legion shapes, colors, smells and textures. Even more fascinating than the phenomenon of dirt itself, however, is the variety of people's attitudes toward it. One man's dirt is another man's garden. Terence McLaughlin's delightful study of dirt covers much cultivated and uncultivated ground. The historical perspective begins with the Romans' answer to body odor (baths) and the early Christians' rejection of Roman values, including cleanliness. Following mankind down the dusty road to civilization, the author leaves us where we are surrounded by what all seem to agree is dirty air, dirty water, dirty landscapes and dirty cities.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Microhistory

194 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly entertaining and informative expose about everything you wanted to know about any foul or filthy substance such as mud, grime, dust, or excrement in Britain down through the ages. However, I definitely would not recommend eating while reading any part of this book because the descriptions of what conditions were like in the United Kingdom several centuries ago are so realistic you can almost 'smell' the graphic narration. There was no concern for sanitation whatsoever, and any care for air and water quality did not exist, and the book shows how the politics and culture of the age allowed this to occur.

The section about England's first cholera epidemic of 1831-1832 is especially horrifying, and the coverup by the authorities to keep the port city of Bradford open is beyond the pale. The descriptions of people crammed together in filthy hovels with absolutely no control over bodily functions was straight out of Dante, and the fact that Big Business wanted coal shipments to continue regardless of the loss of life sounds amazingly "Twenty-First Century".

And, I don't think I will ever be able to see a painting of an elegant 17th or 18th century aristocrat in an elaborate wig and refined clothing without remembering passages in the book that inform us that the wigs were most likely infested with lice and the sophisticated garments were never washed. The book is not an 'easy read', and has the feel of a college text, yet the meticulous descriptions of sanitary conditions of ages past are truly revelatory. And, it's really amazing that anyone could have lived through this.

[Keita Kenyatta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most interesting book that I've read in a while. It explains much that many have not thought about. This is a history that is not taught in school concerning European people. The question that begs to be asked is, how did they get in that condition and how did they get out? There are two books that answer that question. The first question as to how they got in that condition can be answered by simply saying that the Vikings destroyed ancient Rome and Rome destroyed Greece before the Vikings got to them. This means that the invading Europeans from higher north had just destroyed the only light that European civilization had. This caused them to go back into barbarism and decay. The book that answers the question of how did they come out of it is by Stanley Poole, entitled The Moors In Spain. The book that answers the question as to how white people got all messed up in the head with the lies and the false history that they believe, is answered in an excellent work entitled: THEY WERE WHITE AND THEY WERE SLAVES, The Untold History of the Enslavement of Whites in Early America.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a dry title and my copy had a cracked, aging cover that would have led me to believe it was a pretty dry 1970s social history. But this book was about poop and the plague!

In the end it turns it around on us and talks about industrial pollution and consumption, saying that when we laugh at the people of 1700s London who installed toilets and didn't connect them to anything to take the filth away, we don't have much ground to stand on.

Anyway, I liked it.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that was out of print, so when I had a chance to get it I jumped at it. Kids these days use the term savage, this is the perfect term for this people Savages. Very good insight on the way of living and the core of the culture. This book makes me think of things I saw watching Bugs Bunny growing up laying his coat down over a mud puddle etc.
Many movies are made about these times but this stuff isn't touched on much.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at cleanliness (not just DIRT, per say, but pollutants of all kinds) throughout the years, especially focused on Britain, primarily London. I wouldn't expect to find virulent homophobia in such a book, but there it was! At least it was just a brief section of the book talking about King James I. Still, whew.

Otherwise worthy of a read.

[Dave Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read on how ancient European society's did not bathe nor considered personal hygiene. A riveting account of how diseases multiplied and fear prevented intervention. I enjoyed the reading of how society evolved into present-day emphasis on the importance of personal hygiene.

[S.L. Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a weird book that rambled and weaved its way through the history of dirtiness. But I highly enjoyed it.

[David Melbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been meaning to read this since I first moved to Texas; finally did. What a book! Dirt is some shit, ain't it? --From A Reader's Journal, by d r melbie.