Books about Rubbish from Amazon.com

It is from the discards of former civilizations that archaeologists have reconstructed most of what we know about the past, and it is through their examination of today's garbage that Rathje and Murphy inform us of our present. Rubbish! is their witty and erudite investigation into all aspects of the phenomenon of garbage. They show what the study of garbage tells us about a population's demographics and buying habits. Along the way, they dispel the common myths about our "garbage crisis"--about fast-food packaging and disposable diapers, about biodegradable garbage and the acceleration of the average family's garbage output. They also suggest methods for dealing with garbage..
Price: $9.29 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Want to know what goodies you can make with your garbage? This book shows you how to give everyday household items a new life the hip craftster’s way. You’ll discover how to complete more than 30 creative projects using materials you already have at your disposal, while reducing trash and upcycling your personal style. From a credit card bracelet to a map photo frame, this fun guide shows you how to create truly one-of-a-kind pieces—one earth-friendly project at a time..
Price: $9.96 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Barton Bennes imbues mundane objects with the mystical power of holy relics. He assembles modern-day curiosity cabinets, or reliquaries, out of everyday items that have been touched by fame. From such bizarre celebrity-owned articles as Madonna's panties, Bill Clinton's throat lozenge, O.J. Simpson's glove, Larry Hagman's gallstone and glass from the car crash in which Princess Diana died, Benes creates art. Whether his creativity is fuelled by discards with the pedigree of fame or infamy, such as a Frank Sinatra finger-nail clipping or the Son of Sam's hair, or by unusual and strange objects from human and natural history, such as mummy dust, Benes mounts and labels the items and assembles them into mini-museums that are, as this book shows, alternately provocative, disturbing, amusing and compelling. Benes supplies humorous captions that tell the quirky history of each piece, and John Berendt, in his introduction to Benes's art, discusses his own fascination with it..
Price: $3.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Translated here into English for the first time is a monumental work of literary history and criticism comparable in scope and achievement to Eric Auerbach’s Mimesis. Italian critic Francesco Orlando explores Western literature’s obsession with outmoded and nonfunctional objects (ruins, obsolete machinery, broken things, trash, etc.). Combining the insights of psychoanalysis and literary-political history, Orlando traces this obsession to a turning point in history, at the end of eighteenth-century industrialization, when the functional becomes the dominant value of Western culture.
 Roaming through every genre and much of the history of Western literature, the author identifies distinct categories into which obsolete images can be classified and provides myriad examples. The function of literature, he concludes, is to remind us of what we have lost and what we are losing as we rush toward the future..
Price: $33.12 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Dinosaurs have taken over the Earth! They're stomping and stamping all over the place. Young readers will love finding out why in this classic environmental tale from best-selling author/illustrator Michael Foreman. This is a fable for our time, and as relevant today as it was when it was first published in 1972..
Price: $6.89 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This is the story of a fantasy dig. Readers are invited to undertake in their back gardens to find out what is buried underneath it. Their initial small trench gradually gets bigger until they are compelled to destroy their garden shed. Then they come down on the remains of a Roman Villa. Their excavation extends into their neighbour's back garden, and ultimately over their back fence into the field beyond, which is the site of a proposed supermarket. What began as a piece of keyhole archaeology is by the end of the book, a massive site complete with mechanical diggers and dumper tracks. "Archaeology is Rubbish" is a manual for everyone who wants to know how the task of excavation is undertaken. It also answers some of the questions archaeologists are most often asked, such as 'What do you do if you come across human bones?', 'Suppose you find something valuable?' or 'How do you know what's in your trench when all you've got are different shades of earth?' As well as taking the reader on an archaeological journey, "Archaeology is Rubbish" tells the history of the discipline of archaeology, from the earliest looters of pyramids to the present day, and explores modern archaeological techniques. It will encourage those with an interest in digging, but equally it will amuse and engage those whose archaeological ambitions are limited to turning the pages of this book. This is a fascinating, humurous look at the ins and outs of archaeology by two of Britain's favourite archaeologists. Through Time Team, Tony Robinson has become firmly established as an entertaining authority and a trusted commentator on historical and archaeological matters. Professor Mick Aston is a well-respected archaeologist, based at the University of Bristol, who has been a pivotal and charismatic member of the Time Team gang since its inception..
Price: $47.66 [Notify me when price goes down.]