Pre-order Releases Jun 8, 2027
Night Soil: The Cultural History of Shit
$16.07 / copy at 25+ copies As low as $14.23 at 1,000+Your best volume price
Volume pricing Applied automatically in your cart
About the book
Night Soil
Shit is everywhere. Shit is nowhere. It is universal, unavoidable, and utterly taboo. Yet behind this messy reality lies a fascinating story about who we are, how we’ve lived, and where we are going.
Shrouded in shame and embarrassment, it is perhaps no wonder that our relationship with shit has obscured its significance and rendered its ubiquitous presence throughout human history silent.
Exploring the often-overlooked role of waste in our cultural, historical, and ecological evolution, Joanna Grochowicz blends humour and rigorous research to uncover how it has shaped agriculture, class hierarchies, medicine, religion, and even how we imagine the future.
From the Aztec belief in shit gods to Christianity’s obsession with ritual cleanliness, the Nose of Empire to the Groom of the Stool, Haussmann’s sewers to the nightsoil gangs of mid-century China, Grochowicz plumbs the symbolic currency of shit, unearthing its position as a resource, a tool, and a mirror of our anxieties about mortality, purity, and control. This is not just a book about what we flush away, but of the inescapable, undeniable, and unseen ways in which waste has shaped societies, belief systems, and the very world we live in.
By reexamining our past, Grochowicz challenges us to rethink the future—one where waste is not a problem to be hidden, but a key to a regenerative, sustainable world. Traveling through time and across the globe, Night Soil invites readers to confront what we all share but refuse to acknowledge—and in doing so, reveals the strange, essential, and world-shaping story of shit.
The book, Night Soil: The Cultural History of Shit [Bulk, Wholesale, Quantity] ISBN#9781645025160 in Paperback by Joanna Grochowicz may be ordered in bulk quantities. Minimum starts at 25 copies. Availability based on publisher status and quantity being ordered.
What readers are saying
Details
- Publisher
- Rizzoli
- Author
- Joanna Grochowicz
- Format
- Paperback
- Release date
- Jun 8, 2027
- ISBN-13
- 9781645025160
- ISBN-10
- 1645025160
- Pages
- 240
- Carton quantity
- 12 copies
Who it's for
Made for sharing
Pre-order copies for everyone on your list, and they ship on release.
- Book clubs A copy for every member, on one order. Get a quote
- Events and conferences A book for every attendee, delivered to your venue. Get a quote
- Author events and signings Copies at the venue in time for the day. Get a quote
- Gifts For clients, staff, members or volunteers. Get a quote
Before release day
Need them before Jun 8?
Books ship on release and usually arrive around the release date. Early delivery is common, and we arrange it often. It needs the publisher’s OK, so tell us why you need them early and we’ll make the request for you.
- Tell us the date and the reasonA class unit, an event, a program launch: one line is enough.
- We ask the publisherWe make the request on your behalf. It’s a routine part of what we do.
- We confirm with youYour specialist confirms the date by email before anything ships.
Other times a quote is the better path
- Several addressesOne order split across schools, branches, classrooms or homes.
- Signings and eventsTell us the venue and the date, and we’ll plan the delivery around it.
- Custom touchesBookplates, belly bands, gift notes or packaging for your copies.
- Purchase ordersSchools, libraries and agencies can pay by PO.
Night Soil in bulk: pricing
Volume pricing applies automatically in your cart. No codes, no account needed.
| Copies | Price per copy | You save |
|---|---|---|
| 25 – 99 | $16.07 | 30% off list |
| 100 – 249 | $15.61 | 32% off list |
| 250 – 499 | $15.15 | 34% off list |
| 500 – 999 | $14.69 | 36% off list |
| 1,000+ | $14.23 | 38% off list |
How fast can I get copies of Night Soil?
This title is not released yet. Pre-orders ship when it is, currently scheduled for June 8, 2027. Need them by a specific date? Request a quote and we'll confirm timing before you pay.
Can you ship to several locations or people's homes?
Yes. We ship in bulk to one address, to multiple sites, or to individual recipients, in the US and internationally. See fulfillment options.
Can I get a formal quote for approval before ordering?
Yes. Request a quote and we'll send a PDF you can forward for approval.
Do you accept purchase orders and tax-exempt orders?
Yes. We accept purchase orders upon approval, as well as cards, PayPal, ACH, wire transfers and checks. BookPal is a tax-exempt supplier in all 50 states. See purchase orders and sales tax exemption.
What if I find a lower price?
Send us the link. We match prices from other bulk booksellers and distributors on a new copy in the same edition, available to ship in the quantity you need. Clearance sales and pricing errors are the exception, and we'll tell you quickly if that's the case. Start a price match.
Turn this order into a program
Groups that order in bulk often pair the copies with something more. We handle the extras so you don't have to.
One address, many sites or individual recipients' homes, in the US and abroad.
Fulfillment options Pair it with a branded journalJournals with your logo or each reader's name, for the same group.
Branded journalsBookPal is partnering with Talezo to help you find and book authors, speakers and performers for your event.
BookPal × TalezoWrite a Review
Night Soil: The Cultural History of Shit
Groups also order
A colleague asked you to approve this order
Your quote list
Add books as you browse, then request one quote for all of them.


