Do Pharmacists Sell Farms?
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REVIEW BY JEFF TAYLOR
Only the most riveting and surprising books rate a place of honor on our bathroom bookshelf. Such books should be diverting and preferably brilliant; no long fiction, please, and frankly, I'm tired of trivia tomes and porcelain poetry. How about a book that explains the mystery of all these deodorants, unguents, balms, perfumes, safety razors, disposable diapers, and the evolution of drugstores from prehistory to their current sorry state? Imagine my delight to find Vince Staten's newest book, subtitled "A Trip inside the Corner Drugstore." A trip? It's more like a safari into a forgotten world. If you're old enough to remember phosphates and egg creams at the soda fountain, the blood-building iron/sugar/alcohol magic of Geritol tonic, and that weird old crone staring at you from the label of Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compound, you'll immediately recall the great smell of the old corner drugstore. That's what you miss in the sterile breathing atmosphere of a modern chain pharmacy. In the hands of a less risible writer, a book about America's corner drugstores could be literary Sominex, fit only for the bedroom shelf. But fans of Staten's previous books will understand why I actually cracked a rib laughing at his method of scientific inquiry, as directed toward product packaging. He relates unbelievably wild but true anecdotes about the origins of some name-brand products and sprinkles a thousand incredible factoids throughout the book. (Fingernails grow faster in warm weather; body odor may be a natural defense against being eaten by predators.) Staten's style is not just comfortably conversational but also perfectly funny in the oddest spots. For instance, he personally tests Rogaine over a four-month period, to hilarious effect. What makes this a great bathroom book is not only that it can be read with real enjoyment, and to tatters, over a 50-year period by the same person. No, after reading it, you'll want six more books by Staten for all the other rooms in your house. And he's already written them. Jeff Taylor is author of the book Tools of the Trade: The Art and Craft of Carpentry (Chronicle Books).
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