The History of Shit is scatological in every sense. Dominique Laporte鈥檚
decidedly Left Bank, tongue-in-cheek 1978 essay, 鈥淗istoire de la Merde鈥�,
is newly translated into English. His central idea is that manners in the
matter of excrement maketh man. Savages shat in the woods. We have largely
organised our lives and our cities around the need for its clean, odour-free
disposal. Bullshit? Well, maybe. But fun. Published by MIT Press, 拢13.50,
ISBN 0262122251.
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