Customer Reviews

What Shat That?: A Pocket Guide to Poop Identity

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you've ever wanted to be able to identify anything from a rabbit to a fox to a bear or a koala by its dung, well, this is the book for you. A two-page spread on each animal includes loving descriptions of each animal's fecal habits, as well as photos or drawings of turds both large and small. The book is just small enough to fit into a large pocket or a small bag, making it easy to take along as subway reading (in case you relish those weird looks from strangers) or to help you identify those piles of crap you find while hiking.

You'll learn a huge amount about how various animals' feces are used to enable scientists to better track and analyze their movements, habits, and health. The book includes a wide array of factoids regarding how dung is used: as fertilizer, tourist souvenirs, a water purifier(!), a necessary part of complex ecosystems, a source of food or shelter for some critters, and more.

The book has a humorous, irreverent tone, invoking every possible name for poo that you could possibly think of and then some.

I loved this book equally for its tone and for the fascinating bits of information scattered throughout--some hilarious, some poignant, some quite gross. You'll learn how the CIA used tiger poop during the Vietnam War, why ants farm and protect aphids for their honeydew-dung, and how ancient civilizations used various types of scat in medicinal remedies. Not to mention the wealth of information scientists have gathered about animals thanks to their dung, either directly or indirectly.

This book is great! I, like a lot of people living in rural areas, have some weird neighbors. When I started finding large piles of poop on the porch every morning I assumed it was some sort of large animal that for some reason had decided it liked relieving itself on my doorstep...but then around Halloween I started noticing what looked like peanuts and candy corn in the scat.

I became suspicious of the clearly inbreed neighbors dog pretty quickly, so I ordered a copy of "Matt Pagett's wonderful book. With his help I was able to convince the local Sheriff that it was indeed my hillbilly neighbor's dog even though the poop pointed towards a bit larger animal. Much to everyone's surprise it turned out to be one of the inbreed children.

The point is, knowing what is crapping in your yard (or on your porch) can lead to an interesting hobby, or even a six week stint in Juvie for the neighbors awful, awful children.

Clever little book that is much more educational and scientific than would be expected based upon the clever artwork on the front cover and the catchy title. I purchased this for the purposes of going into the wood and hiking with my kids. It's well written, appropriately illustrated, and a good quick read. While some people may consider this to be a satire, it's really more of a reference book, albeit one written with a nice touch of humor. This is a good book for all ages as it addresses the subject without being juvenile.

I was disappointed with this book. I needed a practical book for identifying skat of animals near our farm and instead received a book that showed what Polar Bear, Koala and Rhino feces looks like.

Hello, I thought the booklet would be basically about North American animals. The variety would be good for interested persons,but it left me a little disappointed.