S.J. Parris
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Adam Haslett
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Garbage Land: Summary and book reviews of Garbage Land by Elizabeth Royte, plus links to an excerpt from Garbage Land and a biography of Elizabeth Royte.
Garbage Land On the Secret Trail of Trash
by
Elizabeth Royte
Hardcover: Jul 2005,
320 pages.
Paperback: Aug 2006,
336 pages.
Into our trash cans go dead batteries, dirty diapers, bygone burritos,
broken toys, tattered socks, eight-track cassettes, scratched CDs, banana
peels … But where do these things go next? In a country that consumes and
then casts off more and more, what actually happens to the things we throw
away?
Named one of the New York Times Top 100 Notable Books for 2005.
Book Reviews
BookBrowse
In a style reminiscent of Fast Food Nation, Royte investigates what happens to our garbage, balancing conversational reporting with technical details, covering both the economic and ecological perspectives of garbage. Full Review (members only, 253 words).
Publishers Weekly
All in all, this is a comprehensive, readable foray into a world we'd prefer not to heed-but should.
Library Journal - Irwin Weintraub
Royte's exploration of the economic, territorial, and ecological perspectives of garbage disposal adds up to a fascinating trail of trash. Recommended for all who throw things away.
Kirkus Reviews
While there are obvious ways to cope with waste-Royte clearly outlines them-the biggest problem is mindset: we're accustomed to the ease of the toss. Royte is a natural storyteller and skillful natural historian. Few others could have pulled off turning our feculence into fascination.
Booklist - Donna Seaman
Starred Review. What her staggering expose tells us is that as the quantity, variety, and toxicity of our garbage increases, we must, like nature, evolve ways to reclaim and reuse everything we make.
The New York Times - William Grimes
In Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash, Elizabeth Royte shines a light on everyone's dirty secret. Like a garbage detective, she follows the used plastic bags, drink containers, old newspapers and, yes, bodily excretions that disappear into the trash can or down the toilet, only to reappear somewhere else, out of sight and out of mind...it's a fascinating, sometimes tiring, often depressing tour.
The Washington Post - Jabari Asim
Royte discovers that alternatives, such as recyclable paperboard boxes, generate waste as well. "Which was preferable? The choices, like so many at the intersection of consumerism and environmental concern, were agonizing." The difficulty of making wise, meaningful decisions is a factor Royte often acknowledges in her praiseworthy book. But just as important as her admission that she doesn't have all the answers is her persuasive demonstration that no one does.
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Masterfully blending true events with fiction, this blockbuster historical thriller delivers a page-turning murder mystery set on the sixteenth-century Oxford University campus.
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Garbage Land
(members only, 253 words).
Kirkus Reviews
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