response 1 of 4:

Aug 19 05:50 UTC 1995

_Chasing Dirt - The American Pursuit of Cleanliness_. Suellen Hoy.
Oxford University Press, New York, 1995. xiv, 258 pp. + plates.
$25 or LB17.99.

(from a review in SCIENCE, 11 August 1995)

   "Filthy" and "squalid" are words Americans today might think of as
   describing refugee camps or the slums of Third World cities. In 
   the 18th century, however, the terms were applied to America and
   Americans. Their surroundings were polluted, their living 
   quarters filthy, and their persons unclean. It is natural to
   wonder how and why America became a nation proud of its plumbing
   and devoted to personal hygiene. _Chasing Dirt_ provides answers
   to these questions, showing how social movements, public health
   concerns, and business interests tried to rid the nation of dirt
   in all its public and personal manifestations, and to reshape
   American culture. Indeed, as Suellen Hoy subtly suggests, what
   unites Americans divided by gender, race, class, ethnicity, and
   region is their collective appreciation for cleanliness.