Resurrection in a Bucket: The Rich and Fertile Story of Compost

by Margaret Simons

Genres: Nonfiction

199 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Margaret Simons (b 1960) is an Australian academic, freelance journalist and author. She is currently the media commentator for Crikey and has written ten books.

She is currently Director of the Centre for Advanced Journalism at the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the University of Melbourne.

Simons was a finalist for a Walkley Award for journalism in 2007 for the story Buried in the Labyrinth, about the release of a pedophile into the community, published in Griffith Review and her book The Content Makers – Understanding the Future of the Australian Media was longlisted for the 2008 non-fiction book Walkley award.

Simons also writes for The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Monthly. For many years, she wrote the "Earthmother" gardening column for The Australian.

Simons has a doctorate from the University of Technology, Sydney and was co-founder, with Melissa Sweet, of the community-funded news site YouComm News. She lives in Melbourne.

(from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margare...)

Reviews

[Oanh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was awesome. It had me laughing out loud. Partially, I was laughing at the fact that I was finding so enjoyable reading a little book about compost, but also just because it was funny. I showed my partner a section about the effects of compost on marriage, which made me laugh so hard I had to put the book down and wipe tears from my eyes (perhaps it won't affect you in the same way, but if it does, let me know. We should talk.) Basically, the couple have two compost bins, one in use for adding to and one composting. Fairly basic if you're a composter. The member of the marriage not dealing most often with the compost kept adding waste to the dormant bin and a series of escalating passive aggressiveness occurred in the backyard. I'm the one responsible for panicking about organic waste in our house, and the one who used to turn the compost, and the one who mostly takes it out. I'm also the one who rhapsodies about compost, but I try not to do it too often. People stop inviting you out if you do. At the moment, I'm worm-farming, or trying to, due to the lack of dirt in my "garden".

Anyway, this book is a heap of fun. Compost is a heap of fun, too. I highly recommend both.

[WildWoila · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enthusiastic dive into the compost pile. The history of the organic movement was particularly interesting, while the anecdotes of compost in social life were well-chosen and quite funny. As Danny Rojas would say, "Compost is life!"

[Henri Moreaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable and light book on compost & the history of such.

Covers early agriculture, post ww2 artificial chemical fertiliser boom, waste management, modern landfills, compost experiments by George Washington, Albert Howard, Eve Balfour, etc. Addresses biodynamics in a neutral non biased manner (which makes Steiner look like a space cadet) & more.

Contains gems such as "night soil" and also extolls the benefits of using human manure in agriculture & gardening, something that many people don't realise is already happening. (See the lovely green lawn by Sydney Airport's third runway? Processed poop!).

Would recommend for general interest reading or developing a passion for composting.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was fascinating and also quite hilarious.