When you drop a box of unwanted items off at the local thrift store, where do they go? Probably across the country—or even halfway across the world—to people and places eager to reuse what you don’t want.

In Secondhand, Adam Minter delves into the vast, multibillion-dollar industry that resells used stuff around the world. He follows the trail of unwanted objects from the closets, garages, and storage units of Middle America to epic used-goods markets in Canada, Mexico, Japan, Ghana, India, Malaysia, and beyond.

Secondhand takes us through the often painful and heartbreaking process of cleaning out a lifetime’s worth of possessions and shows that used stuff still has a place in a world that values the new and shiny—it entertains us, makes fortunes, fulfills needs, and transforms the way we live and work.