Art and Science of Dumpster Diving

This book tells the story of how the author John Hoffman was raised in near poverty and how his parents provided for their children in part by raiding trash dumpsters in a nearby town. To this day (1993) Hoffman professes to still live by those principals of salvaging food, clothing and all sorts of other items carelessly thrown away by other people. I think he's got a lot of hot air in what he says but so much of it rings so true that you know he's got to be right. I particularly like the tips given for conducting a search of a dumpster, how to lean in, how to watch for sharp objects, so many other things. This book really will teach you something, buy it even if you never plan to dumpster dive.

There is only a small list of books that has influenced or changed my life, books like the Bible, Dune, and the Boy Scout Hand Book. But this quirky little tome on scavenging would not be on most people's list.But it's on mine!This is a hilarious and informative "how-to" guide of suburban survival. The book instructs how to look through a dumpster, what to look for, where to find it, and what you can do with what you find.The book is also filled with great ancedotes and Ace Backwards comic strips. The stories of the author's psycho brother "Slash" are worth half the cost of the book.But more than the entertainment value is the information. And once you develop your "diver's eye," you will be surprised just how much stuff we Americans pitch wastefully every day, and that's when you come in. Take it!I've found some great things in the trash, and this book can show you just what you're missing!Git divin'! Thar's gold in them thar dumpsters!

John Hoffman's book is not only a thorough "How-To" book on dumpster diving, but it is also chock full of side-splitting stories of his "adventures" while dumpster diving. I would highly recommend this book to anyone pursuing a simpler life, freedom from debt, or those just looking for an interesting (free) hobby. Some of the topics covered in John's book include, proper attire for dumpster diving, proper dumpster diving equipment, useful diving techniques, and where to locate the best most loot filled dumpsters in your town. After reading this book I promptly went out "dumpster diving" to test the validity of John Hoffman's assertions. I returned with "loot" that included a metal 5-shelf unit in perfect condition along with a few other odds and ends. Thanks for a great book John!

Although I was diving before finding John's book, he opened up a whole new world of diving for me. Thanks to John, I'm now saving hundreds of dollars a month in food costs. Money that can be put to better use. John, if you read this, thank you! Email me! I'd love to hear from you. You changed my life.

It couldn't be more true, what Hoffman states, that "peoples head would explode" if they knew a nice looking middle class guy like himself (or me) did to salvage some of the mountains of energy thrown out every day. Go John, go, America needs to wake up to the fact that we are the "Saudi Arabia of waste". If, as is often said in America that the world should live as we do, but there wouldn't be any world left, only heaps of trash for alien anthropoligists to ponder upon.