Unfortunately, this one just didn’t do it for me. It may work for others, but I couldn’t jive with the content. I would like to give it another chance in the future!

The premise of the book is great and the author really delivers. Great read. Highly recommended. .

There was much to enjoy here, but I found I couldn't connect with it. I'd read more from this author in the future though.

The Story of Shit by Midas Dekkers is about different scientific, historic and cultural aspects of defecation and excrement.

Funny and informative! A great and fun way to learn about poo. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

After a string of non-fiction ARCs that I struggled to connect with and found hard to get through, I came to this one. I turned up my nose and made some kind of noise of disgust. What was I thinking the day I requested a book all about shit? Imagine my surprise when partway through this book I found myself thinking…

Finally! A non-fiction book that is well-written, accessible to the common idiot (a.k.a. me), and ENTERTAINING! Some authors don’t seem to understand that non-fiction information can be relayed in an interesting way with humour and wit.

The Story of Shit discusses everything connected to the natural act known as… a number two.

What’s happening on a biological level. The path food travels from beginning to end. The effects certain foods and illnesses have on the process. The anatomy involved in the process, and the way each piece of the puzzle pitches in.

The history of the act. How plumbing used to be. How it is now in various parts of the world. How it could be in the future.

Social impacts. An Italian artist once put some of his poo in 90 different cans, sealed them and sold them as an “art exhibit.” Rumour has it that his father owned a cannery and told his son that his “art was shit.” Trolling has been around for a long time. But 3 of those cans have shown up in the art auction world since then, and sold for over $100,000!

The social surroundings of the topic. The author talks about the different groups of people. The first is the group who talk openly about bodily functions (and not for crude jokes) but for health reasons. Many experts still believe that the clearest sign of a healthy body can be found in our toilets. And then there’s the group who won’t talk about it. Ever. To anyone. Let’s face it, regardless of its ties to health, most of us are in that second group. Should we all stay there? Probably not, but I’m pretty sure we will.

So maybe you won’t want to tell people that you’ve read this book, but I recommend you do. It’s interesting, it’s funny, and you just might learn something about your own digestive system.

Fun fact about this post: Reading this book on the toilet has to be some kind of meta thing, right?

This is a brilliantly written book on a gross and taboo subject.
Entertaining and educational this is a great read for fans of Mary Roach.

The title got me, you have to believe it. I needed to know more. Surely this book can't just be about shit. But indeed it is. The author knows how to indulge the author and keep them laughing while educating.

A very unusual subject told in a very amusing way! As the author himself admits the subject isn’t one that is a socially accepted general topic of discussion but he has certainly researched his subject and writes in a very interesting and witty manner.
There were some interesting insights in how we view this aspect of our life. While I did find it an amusing read I’m probably like a lot of others that I wouldn’t openly recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher Text Publishing for a copy to read and review.

Really interesting one-sitting read! There was something really sweet about the translation, too, which quickly had me hooked.

"...The world runs on shit, and Mother Nature knows it. That’s why she never flushes her toilet…"

The title itself will not attract many interested readers and that is a sad fact. The book is well-written, instructional, and extremely entertaining. There is quite a long section near the end that leaves much to be desired as the emphasis is placed too much on the fetish involved with excrement. But there are perfect gems throughout the entire book and much to consider.

"...Mobile telephoning is a verbal form of incontinence…"

Many of our social norms are questioned by Midas Dekkers and the history of the world is brought forth out of the loo’s darkness and into a new light.

"...Not only is shit the keystone of the circle of life, but it’s also an object of lust, a means of creative expression, and a vehicle for communicating love between humans or between man and animal…"

Of late I have immersed myself into books again dealing with self-awareness and actualization. Leonard Cohen is a good example. Can’t seem to get enough of Cohen’s words these days. But like everything else, once I have thoroughly exhausted my study of him I will likely move on. The Story of Shit was definitely worth my time.

"...Many couples stay together simply because neither one of them knows how to let go. The advantage of being a turd is that you barely have time to become attached before the moment of separation arrives. But when it does, we’re forced once again to face the unbearable fact of life’s brevity..."

I did enjoy this book although I'm not convinced a whole book about poo is easy to digest (pun intended).

A fascinating read - The Story of Shit presents a personal, cultural, scientific, historical and environmental account of excrement from bowel to toilet bowl.

If you like florid language and discussion of the pleasures of taking a dump, this book is for you. It’s a tour through many European sources that celebrate defecation and related bodily functions, along with various “facts” about the digestive system. Did you ever think about the fact that everything you digest is, in some sense, vomit? Yeah, it’s that kind of book.

The author takes a humorous approach to a quite important topic. At times I thought it was hilarious, at other times the many quotes from other books made this a boring read. I recommend this book to anyone who is willing to explore the topic of our human excrement without cringing. It is important to get in touch with ones own excrement (figuratively at least, but you might try the literal approach - see what I did there, the author's humour rubs off).

No for me I’m afraid. Started well, funny in parts, overly long. I got bored by halfway. Maybe a book to leave in the smallest room to thumb through when a movement takes you.

The Story of SHit is not for the faint of heart. The book looks candidly at poop and our digestive system. This intriguing book discusses the history of the societal idea of excitement as well as looks at the scientific aspects of our body. At times this book is humorous, but it's not quite the work by Mary Roach.
Not for the squeamish, The Story of Shit takes a clear look at one of our body's most hidden functions.

Posted on Zerofiltersaurus.wordpress.com 13/8/18
What it’s about: Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about poo. And probably a lot more.

Genre: Books that make you up your fibre intake

The author: Midas Dekkers, a Dutch biologist who has previously written about subjects such as death, decay and bestiality. I know! I wonder what a psychoanalyst would make of this. Or better still, a turd reader...

What appealed to me was...I like talking about bowels and poo. A whole book about it? I could hardly resist!

Why read a book about something that is gross, that no one talks about? Because it will tell you why poo is in fact great, only slightly gross and why people are so secretive about it but not things which are far grosser.

You should have a read if...you shame people for farting and other things that are, you know, fundamental to human existence.

You shouldn’t read this if...you are one of those who likes to talk about how things ‘aren’t what they used to be.’ Well no, they definitely aren’t, but have a read about the history of medicine where bowels are concerned and the awful things that people did before they knew better, or what life was like before proper sewage systems were invented, and tell me if your nostalgia is still so sweet!

I thought this was great because...poo is a ridiculous thing to be a taboo: we all do it, we all need to do it and therefore wouldn’t life be better if we talked about it without the embarrassment? It’s also incredibly informative, and given how much we don’t talk about pooing, I’m certain that most people could learn a lot from this book.

The thing I didn’t like was...I can’t look at a sausage now.

Never was a truer word spoken... ‘The earth that you cherish turns out to be worm poo, the sea where you spend your holidays is filled with fish piss. What we call the environment is nothing but the excretions of plants and animals. Mother Nature is hopelessly incontinent. Yet nature rarely stinks.’

The line I’d most like to find a context for in conversation: ‘slimy slobbery slugs slithered through the slough like sleazy sluts’

Rating 5⭐️

Basically, read it because: Midas Dekkers has a witty style and makes poo a fascinating subject. You will gain respect for parts of your body you might well be embarrassed about or simply didn’t understand enough because you prefer to think about nicer things. In terms of body positivity and confidence, wouldn’t it be lovely to not be disgusted by something that your body does and instead view it with awe? But wait, there’s more! Prepared to be intrigued as you learn about the wonders of bird poo, bat poo, whale poo, even dinosaur poo. A whole book on a load of shit, showing nature at it’s efficient best, is in fact an awesome read.

This is the old fashion kind of erudite extended essay that used to be very fashionable in Europe. It's great the way Dekkers has revived the genre.

The book is a romp through all things related to faces. It sometimes veers off course, but all in all, it sticks to the subject (ugh!).

The style is very breezy and if anyone is ever to receive an award for translation, Nancy Forest-Flier certainly does. And that's praise coming from a professional translator. The only problem is that the book sometimes references the Netherlands and that might confuse less Euro-cognoscenti. But it's also a breath of fresh air, if one can use that phrase, in a world filled with Anglo-American dreck.

This is the kind of book you could read to relax, but it is chock-full of new and interesting facts about its subject. And again, it's refreshing that the writer calls a spade a spade and a turd a turd. There are some descriptions that are, so to speak, in your face, and if you have complexes about defecation and its products I wouldn't recommend this book to you. It's hard to see it as a gift, unless one really knows the recipient's inner life.

There is biology, psychology, folklore, history and humour galore in this book and they are presented in a very readable way.

N.B. I was given an advanced copy from Net Gallery and, even though it was an ebook and I read it on my iPhone 6s, the illustrations in it were easy to enjoy because they were in greyscale and usually of an artistic nature.

Full of history and humor, this is a witty read on a subject we really should be less uptight about.