Blood, Sweat and Tears

Name: Blood, Sweat and Tears
Price: 34.99 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9781835985045

A History of Bodily Fluids

Ruben Verwaal, Andy Brown, Andy Brown

$34.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

August Books
28 April 2026

Human figures depicted in art; Social & cultural history; Illness & addiction: social aspects; Human biology; Popular medicine & health

Our ancestors didn’t just take the piss… They used it too.

The human body leaks. It oozes. It sweats and spits. It bursts, it bleeds and it squirts. Over the history of humanity, our bodies have evolved into sophisticated vessels for survival, leaving a long trail of fluids in our wake.

Whether we’re coughing it up or swallowing it down, our bodily fluids are essential to our life and health. Yet, in the past couple of centuries, we have developed a difficult relationship with these fluids: today we find pus, poo and vomit unhygienic and even repellent. But this has not always been the case.

In Blood, Sweat and Tears, Ruben Verwaal embarks on a deep dive into the story of our bodily fluids, the changing perceptions around them and the practical uses that have trickled down through the generations. Whether it’s bile or breastmilk, semen or snot, Verwaal examines how each one of our bodily fluids is dripping with symbolism, mythology and its own rich cultural history.

So the next time you have a runny nose, waxy ears, or sweat through your clothes, remember – it wasn’t always as gross as you think.

By: Ruben Verwaal
Translated by: Andy Brown, Andy Brown
Imprint: August Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 22mm
ISBN: 9781835985045
ISBN 10: 1835985041
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 28 April 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Ruben E. Verwaal is NWO Rubicon Research Fellow at the Institute for Medical Humanities, Durham University, and curator of the medical collections at the Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam. He specialises in history of early modern science and medicine, material culture, and critical medical humanities.