To most, the flush of a toilet seems a routine motion to banish waste and ensure cleanliness: safe, efficient, necessary, nonpolitical, and utterly unremarkable. However, Jamie Benidickson's examination of the social and legal history of sewage in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom demonstrates that the uncontroversial reputation of flushing is deceptive. In a time when community water quality can no longer be taken for granted,...