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Summary: great x-mas book for eco friends
Review: A must read and great christmas book for those eco-minded friends. The book is full of humor, funny cartoons, and easitly lays out the why's and how's of "humanuring". We live in urban San Jose and I bought the book for my husband to read for fun. Next thing I know he is really doing it with a compost pile next to our fenced sidewalk! Although hesitant at first, after reading the book I'm a convert!. We just harvested our one year pile and its healthy looking with an earthy smell. We are doing the full cycle in our home and Joseph Jenkins layed out the easy plan on how to do this in his excellent book.
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Summary: miracle of science in my backyard
Review: A new epoch has dwned for those intelligent and considerate peoople who want to do good for the planet. This is a hands-on expierience in the miracle of science. Get off your dierier and delight in the transformation of life. Got his book as a gift and never knew what a major waste of water we cause by flushing the toilet, Joseph transformed my whole ideology of "waste". I was interested in this environment but this book really changed my outlook on what we can personally do.
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Summary: Great Current Book On This Subject
Review: As someone who has studied and worked with non water-based sanitation systems for several years it was a relief to discover Mr. Jenkin's Humanure Handboook. Having done my undergraduate thesis on composting humanure, I was often frustrated when doing research that there was not a well written, easy to use, modern source (written within the last 10 years) source on the subject. Here it is folks, finally.I think the most important contribution this book makes is that it really shows in great and useful detail how crazy it is to use water to "manage" humanure. It also shows that for little money (you don't always need to buy a multi-thousand dollar factory designed system), the individual owner-builder can design a system that will cost nothing to operate and make a tangible reduction on the impact to our planet. An excellent book, five - stars Pete
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Summary: The Humanure Handbook
Review: At Last! The truth! Revealed! Sound Fanatical? I believe it! thankyou Joseph Jenkins. Your book will be studied in schools. Perhaps it might even replace religious studies. We are all GODS but You are a majestic GOD who truly has let the blind see! Even though we are not Christians it seems amusing that your name is Joseph and not Jesus even though your message WILL save the world. Well Done. May the GODS bless you; your family; and your garden.
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Summary: Enlightening
Review: For anyone who has ever questioned the wisdom of using clean, potable water for storing and transporting our bodily byproducts, this is a great, empowering book. For anyone who has considered purchasing a manufactured composting toilet, beware of what companies (must?) do to sell their products. Marketing and advertising are strong forces but a little research can overcome them. Read this book and talk to people who've purchased manufactured toilets before you buy.
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Summary: important information that should be commonly held by all
Review: I first read the Humanure Handbook in 1996 and recently obtained a copy of the new edition, after giving my old copy to an outdoor education facility. The system outlined in the book is simple, inexpensive, free of odors and pests, and ecologically sound. In sharing this information with others, the author helps us to make the cognitive connection between our lifestyles and the environment by showing us that the circle of nutrients must be completed to be in balance. This is accomplished by putting back into the soil what we take from it. Clear and concise instructions on how to do so, backed up by hard science, make up the majority of the book. The best thing I can say about the book is that I have been using the information for several years by composting my post-digested food, and haven't had any problems. Simple, straightforward, and good for the planet, I recommend this book to everyone whose body expels post-digested food.
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Summary: Life changing
Review: I found the book to be a life changing force, in that you just cannot flush the toilet anymore without thinking about all the wasted water or toxic chemicals going into that act. A farewell "drink you later" has become my slogan as I press the silver handle. I don't agree with the authors personal view of Christianity, but that has nothing to do with the validity of the information in the book. I have already decided in my new house to have only a greywater constructed wetland and use nothing but the composting method from the book. I am excited about how much my land is going to benefit from this new resource that I had not planned on, and since we will be homesteading and working towards maximum self-sufficiency, that is a real bonus. Thanks Joe!
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Summary: Joe Walks the Walk as he Talks the Talk
Review: I have seldom read a book with this much researched material that wasn't dry and boring. You will read The Humanure Handbook from cover to cover not only to glean the vital information, but also because it is a very interesting read. Joe's snappy prose laced with a liberal dose of humor present this unusual topic in such a manner as to keep the reader wanting more. Tom Griffin's illustrations are just what was needed to illuminate various ideas presented throughout The Humanure Handbook. The main point I would like to make, though, is to tell you that I had the experience of living on Joe's farm and witnessed the use of humanure in his garden. The produce was first-rate and abundant. Joe is genuine and he not only talks the talk, he walks the walk
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Summary: A book that digs deep.
Review: I like it when a book makes me take a big step back and question my place in the world. The Humanure Handbook uses a daily function (going to the bathroom) as the context for doing just this. Not only does it scrutize a deeply-entrenched and accepted modern appliance (the flush toilet), exposing it as a wasteful product of western laziness, but it gives the reader all the information needed to easily, affordably, and safely implement a better alternative. Probably the most important point made in The Humanure Handbook is the fact that we use the word 'waste' far too liberally and in the wrong way. In the phrase 'human waste' the word 'waste' should be a verb rather than a noun, because as a society we are going to tremendous expense to turn a valuable resource (human urine and feces) into something that is so hard to use that it is fit to be described as 'waste' (noun). Jenkins works hard to challenge and ultimately destroy the reader's irrational fear of feces and to turn that 'fecophobia' into an enlightened respect for the resource that it can be. The author cites numerous scientific studies that corraborate his extensive personal experience with composting *everything* that a family household generates. His summary of the scientific literature pertaining to the practise of composting humanure is thorough enough to convince me (a proud skeptic) that anybody could safely compost humanure after a careful reading of this book.
Rating:
Summary: A book that digs deep.
Review: I like it when a book makes me take a big step back and question my place in the world. The Humanure Handbook uses a daily function (going to the bathroom) as the context for doing just this. Not only does it scrutize a deeply-entrenched and accepted modern appliance (the flush toilet), exposing it as a wasteful product of western laziness, but it gives the reader all the information needed to easily, affordably, and safely implement a better alternative. Probably the most important point made in The Humanure Handbook is the fact that we use the word 'waste' far too liberally and in the wrong way. In the phrase 'human waste' the word 'waste' should be a verb rather than a noun, because as a society we are going to tremendous expense to turn a valuable resource (human urine and feces) into something that is so hard to use that it is fit to be described as 'waste' (noun). Jenkins works hard to challenge and ultimately destroy the reader's irrational fear of feces and to turn that 'fecophobia' into an enlightened respect for the resource that it can be. The author cites numerous scientific studies that corraborate his extensive personal experience with composting *everything* that a family household generates. His summary of the scientific literature pertaining to the practise of composting humanure is thorough enough to convince me (a proud skeptic) that anybody could safely compost humanure after a careful reading of this book.
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