PRINT-Rats by Robert Sullivan

Sullivan's Rats is a book with everything in it. It is naturalism, history, biology, and social commentary all rolled up into one. It is everything you wanted to know (and didn't) about the furry creatures that seemed permanently attached to human society.

If there is one lesson to take from Rats, it is this. CLEAN UP YOUR GARBAGE!! You can trap rats, poison rats, and even shoot them marksman style as some exterminators are forced to do. But the key to controlling rats is to control their food supply which is human garbage esp. in big cities like New York and Chicago.

Another thing you learn about rats is that killing them for a living is a very lucrative profession. Combined with termites and roaches, you will never lack for work or a living. But there is one cardinal rule of the pest control profession--CONFIDENTIALITY. You can't let your client list get out. Every business and restaurant wants to keep all this shit on the down low. Makes sense considering that people don't want to eat at some rat infested restaurant even if it is one of those deluxe five star eateries that cost $200 a plate.

Rats are also very interesting creatures. They fuck like mad including dead females and other males. They can gnaw through concrete. They can swim. And they are also territorial. They don't venture far from a regular food source.

I can't put down everything you will glean from this book, but you will enjoy reading it. And you certainly won't find it on Oprah's list.

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