Clean : an unsanitized history of washing /
Katherine Ashenburg.
- London : Profile, 2008.
- 358 p. : ill., ports. ; 23 cm.
Originally published: as The dirt on clean. Toronto, Ont.: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 329-333) and index.
But didn\'t they smell? -- The socail bath: Greeks and Romans -- Bathed in Christ: 200-1000 -- A steamy interlude: 1000-1550 -- A passion for clean linen: 1550-1750 -- The return of water: 1750-1815 -- Baths and how to take them: Europe, 1815-1900 -- Wet all over at once: America, 1815-1900 -- Soap opera: 1900-1950 -- The household shrine: 1950 to the present.
Katherine Ashenburg uses the seemingly routine task of washing (or not) as a starting point for a unique exploration of Western culture. 'Clean' takes us on a journey that is by turn edifying, humorous, startling and not always for the squeamish.