A Crisis of Waste Understanding the Rubbish Society [Paperback]

This book takes a measured look at the 'crisis of waste' in modern society and it does so historically, sociologically and critically. It tells stories about past and present crises of waste and puts them in their appropriate social and industrial contexts. From Charles Dickens to Don DeLillo, from the internal combustion engine to fish fingers, from kitchen grease to the Tour de France this book digs deep into societys dust piles and emerges with untold treasures of the imagination.

Introduction: Rubbish Society?  1. Rubbish Histories  2. Rubbish Literatures  3. Rubbish Industries  4. Rubbish Households  5. Rubbish Relationships  6. Rubbish Idealism  7. Rubbish Materialism.  Conclusion: Rubbish Society!

[This] book reads as an ode to rubbish, which seems to have waited two long centuries since the Industrial Revolution to be written. It is a memorable addition to the sociology of waste, with its claims that societies have been fabricated out of waste and waste is the ground upon which they stand. For its literary elegance and profound scholarship, the book is destined to be a classic... Essential.

- T. Niazi, University of Wisconsin, Choice

This is an excellent book. It is well-researched and exceptionally well-written. I particularly like the fact that O'Brien is utterly fearless and critically independent. He writes vigorously and entertainingly and challenges conventional wisdoms at every turn. He knows the literature -- literary, historical, empirical and theoretical -- thoroughly and brings to it an extraordinarily inquiring and critical mind. There have been a few good books on waste, and this one is certainly among the very best of them.... Martin O'Brien has established himself as one of the few sociological authorities on this subject and, on this evidence, he is theló9