The Humanure Handbook: A Guide to Composting Human Manure. - book reviews

Finally we have a comprehensive book on recycling human excrement without chemicals, high technology, or pollution. Well written, practical, and thoroughly researched, this self-published book is built on nearly twenty years of experience by the authors, who tell us about every aspect of dealing with excrement on the home-scale level. Everything is covered: privy designs of all types, sanitation and composting. Well organized throughout, The Humanure Handbook includes lots of references and data on all aspects of dealing with shit, appendices listing sources of equipment such as compost thermometers, and n good glossary. The book gets a little cute sometimes (section headings like Gomer Pile, Holy Sheesh, When the Crop Hits the Fan, etc.), but I chalk that up to the usual cultural hangups about talking about the one product we all have in common.

It should be evident to the reader by now that humanure certainly possesses the capability of transmitting various diseases. For this reason, it should also be evident that the composting of humanure is a serious undertaking and should not be done in a frivolous, careless or haphazard manner. The pathogens that may be present in humanure have various survival periods outside the human body and maintain various capacities for re-infecting people. This is why careful management of a thermophilic compost system is so important. Nevertheless, there is no proven, natural, low-tech method for destroying human pathogens in organic refuse that is as successful and accessible to the average human as well-managed thermophilic composting.

COPYRIGHT 1996 Point Foundation
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group