Clean: A History of Personal Hygiene and Purity

by Virginia Smith and Virginia Smith

Book Overview

In this pioneering book, Virginia Smith combines archeology, psychology, biology, and sociology to reveal how and why standards of cleanliness have come to exist today. Using hundreds of first-hand accounts and sources, Smith bring us from the Neolithic age to the present, peppering her engaging prose with enlightening and often surprising details. Subconscious cleanliness has been with us since the first cell ejected a foreign invader. Even at the...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0199297797
• ISBN13: 9780199297795
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 468 Pages
• Weight: 1.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 7.8" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

Italy since 1796 and the rest

I am sorry; I entered this item - and the next one - without knowing exactly the question. I thought that perhaps a history of Italy since 1796 was ok and then added the other item as a consolation in case my son could not make a good show with ``Italy since 1796''.

scholarly and interesting

I found Smith"s book enlightening. Certainly info from ancient and even early twentieth century was more interesting than later chapters addressing modern mores and trends, but that is to be expected. I enjoyed it!