Other Dark Matter

Lina Zeldovich is a writer and editor specializing in the journalism of solutions. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Reader's Digest, Smithsonian, Popular Science, Scientific American, Atlantic, Newsweek, and many other popular outlets. An immigrant from the former Soviet Union, she lives in New York City and keeps a compost pile in her backyard.

"A take on waste that's anything but wasteful—it's a fascinating dig into the history and science of handling human excrement. . . . Equally remarkable are Zeldovich's sections on the development and evolution of wastewater treatment plants. . . . Zeldovich is at home with an awkward subject, making for a grossly engrossing and vivid survey. Readers won't take the 'flush and forget' mindset for granted again."

• Part 1: The History of Human WasteChapter 1: How I Learned to Love the ExcrementChapter 2: The Early History of Human ExcretaChapter 3: Treasure Night Soil as if It Were Gold!Chapter 4: The Water Closet Dilemma and the Sewage Farm ParadigmChapter 5: Germs, Fertilizer, and the Poop PolicePart 2: The Present: A Sludge Revolution in ProgressChapter 6: The Great Sewage Time Bomb and the Redistribution of Nutrients on the PlanetChapter 7: Loowatt, a Loo That Turns Waste into WattsChapter 8: The Crap That Cooks Your Dinner and Container-Based SanitationChapter 9: HomeBiogas: Your Personal Digester in a BoxChapter 10: Made in New YorkChapter 11: Lystek, the Home of Sewage SmoothiesChapter 12: How DC Water Makes Biosolids BLOOMChapter 13: From Biosolids to BiofuelsPart 3: The Future of Medicine and Other ThingsChapter 14: Poop: The Best (and Cheapest) MedicineChapter 15: Looking where the Sun Doesn’t ShineChapter 16: From the Kindness of One’s Gut: An Insider Look into Stool BanksAfterword: Breathing Poetry into PoopNotesIndex