[close] "Dumpster diving" is an unfortunate term for a noble pursuit: reclaiming and reusing perfectly good things that are being thrown away by wasteful or lazy people. It is also a political act highly frowned upon in materialistic societies because it removes one from obligate consumerism. And John Hoffman has written the ultimate guide for perfecting the art. A college graduate with a good job, Hoffman doesn't have to Dumpster dive: he loves to, and lives better--and more freely--because of it. In nations like America, there is an incredible amount of great stuff--often in great shape--thrown out every day. And Hoffman tells you how to claim it as your own.

At this point, I have a confession to make: I am a sometime Dumpster diver myself. Almost all of the furniture in our house has been found abandoned on the streets in our upper-middle-class neighborhood or nearby college campuses: sofas, tables, bookcases, lamps... you name it--even some of our several household computers! Personally, I wouldn't do some of what Hoffman advocates (such as diving for food), but as in the tradition of all Loompanics Press books, this is a no-holds-barred, tell-all book that assumes its readers can make decisions appropriate to their own lives.

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