This book is a fascinating excursion into the history of St. Petersburg baths. Attracting numerous documentary and literary and memoir sources, the author considers the baths of St. Petersburg both as a kind of object of architecture and as a unique cultural and aesthetic phenomenon. The text contains a lot of interesting and very useful information, including a description of ancient techniques and recipes for proper soaring, washing, massage and other bath "delights." Details are told about the "service" of the old Petersburg baths, about their owners, regulars.