This is not the book to bring to the lunchroom. It is pretty gross but it is also fascinating. Everything humans try to do discreetly is brought to the spotlight and explored in graphic ways. From snot to tears, the author offers different perspectives on everything our bodies shed. Part of it is approachable science, like what are the chemicals in urine; there is also a historical perspective but it mostly approaches the subjects in surprising ways. Some parts fell a little flat for me, like the pages about flatulence in a boy from Pennsylvania, or the detailed part about catching someone’s last breath. Others were truly entertaining and surprisingly poignant (hair, tears). The account of an ayahuasca ceremony is a little random but very interesting (I’ve never considered doing drugs but this will guarantee I never, ever, ever even go near them). But the part that shocked me was the epilogue. I hadn’t considered where the author was going and it surprised and moved me.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Mariner Books.

I thought Earthly Materials would be an interesting aside but, honestly, it wasn't quite as advertised. In hindsight, I can see the blurb alludes to how it actually reads, but it's also clear the blurb writer was dancing around the many deviations the author took from the stated topic.

Chapter one was very strong, probably one of the best chapters (and probably why the editor put it first). It covers the topic of mucous objectively and in depth, as promised in the blurb, and it provides new facts I didn't know. Coincidentally (or maybe not), my newsfeed popped up an article a day later adding a new twist to mucous that the author wasn't aware of. It was probably too new. So far, so good, I thought - we're off to a fine start.

The second chapter was about blood, which I expected to be just as interesting. Instead, I learned very little about blood and a whole lot about the racial bias surrounding the establishment of the first blood banks. After a very brief overview of the primary blood types, the author launched into a long narrative of how and why blood banks were created, and his focus was heavily on the racist aspects of the time. It's unfortunate but not surprising, as that is the way things were. The chapter ended without me learning anything new about blood itself.

Other chapters were even more oblique. Some chapters were farces written as if they were archaic guides to collecting one's breath or historical accounts of flatulence; other chapters were filled with long lists of slang terms amd folklore, and one was the story of a woman who sold powdered milk (not breast milk) illegally. I came away feeling let down - I wanted more on the stated topic and less of all the rabbit holes that filled the book. I suspect the author knew he didn't have enough matieral to write a booklength volume if he stuck to the substances themselves; hence all the sidelines and filler material.

I think there's a good book to be written on the subject of bodily emissions but, for me, this wasn't it.