- Hardcover: 240 pages
- Publisher: Dorling Kindersley Ltd.; 1 edition (July 26 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0789478366
- ISBN-13: 978-0789478368
- Product Dimensions: 28.4 x 25.6 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 1.4 Kg
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,636,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
The coffee-table accompaniment to the BBC television series, The Human Face considers the notion that beauty is indeed only skin-deep, and explores whether we should judge a book by its cover. Supposing we do, it justifies the conceit through a wealth of magnificent colour plates and an explanatory text by John Cleese, who presented the series, and psychologist Brian Bates. If appearance and beauty are a universal concern, our curiosity is nothing compared to psychologists, who produce an endless stream of tests, polls and inquiries into beauty. But this nothing new, in fact, and the Greeks had the answer, and words, for it. The Golden Mean divided the face into three equal sections, with the perfect face conforming to the ratio 1:1.618, where the ratio between the smaller parts to the larger was the same as between the larger parts and the entire face. Astonishing, perhaps, but these almost divine dimensions, used for their statues, persist as models of timeless beauty. The book divides into six sections. Origins follows the oft-quoted paradigm of the span of human existence expressed within the timescale of a single day, with Homo sapiens' after-the-pub late appearance. Identity is discussed in terms of broad genetic and gender terms, while expressions, aka Jim Carrey Studies, looks at developmental, physiological and cultural differences. It occasionally reads like a school biology text, graded to accommodate all-comers, but makes simple points succinctly. Beauty is symmetry, using scientific studies to quantify the instinctual. Ultimately it truly is in the eye of the beholder, though rarely when turned on itself, which is where vanity picks up its cue, looking out of the corner of its eyes at cosmetics, ageing, disfigurement and Madonna. Madonna, of course, also fits into the final chapter on fame, which examines the effect of photography and cinema in transmitting repetitive human images globally. The jazz trumpeter Chet Baker was once asked, in his later years, how his face had gotten so lined. "Laughter lines", he answered. "But, Chet", came the reply, "Nothing's that funny". Ultimately, The Human Face works best as a visual smorgasbord, and its lavish, eye-catching photographs. And in holding our attention, it proves the next best thing to a mirror. --David Vincent
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
"The face you see in the mirror had its beginnings in the primeval slime at the bottom of the sea," begins this large-format, picture-laden study The Human Face, by psychologist, biologist and sometime acting coach and director Brian Bates, with actor John Cleese. As early as "nine minutes after being born... we prefer to gaze at faces," they report. Noting that the face is "an identity tag," they explore "how we became so dependent on our visual senses, and how that helped to shape the evolution of our features." Moving from issues of beauty to "a realm of hype and superhype: the phenomenon of fame," they question why certain faces are able to convince us, mesmerize us and sell us products. Based on a BBC series, this engaging, thoughtful and sometimes funny treatment will bring smiles to many faces.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
fascinating,
By Amy Lynn (Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Human Face (Hardcover)
great book, good read and some really good pictures. this is such a unique fun book to read i read it over and over again and love looking at all the cool and colorful pictures. this book tells all about the human face from the begining of time and where it originated up until what we are today. it covers many diffrent areas and topics relating to science, beauty, expressions etc... , it has everything you could think of! it covers everything you ever wanted to know about the face. i recomend this book to anyone whos interested in how humans interact with eachother and facial expressions and what we consider beauty and why, or even if you like science! buy this book today, it's worth it.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome book!,
By
This review is from: Human Face (Hardcover)
This book actually surprised me in it's depth and content. It didn't appear to be very long even though it is rather tall. It covers the origin of the human face and goes on to explain why we are fascinated with the face as well as how faces are used in commercials and movies to promote ads, gain sympathy, or provoke anger. It is very scientific yet easy to understand. Quite humorous as well. Very beautiful photos. There is so much in the book I can't begin to list it all. I really learned a lot from this book and I have recommended it to many friends.I highly recommend this book.
5.0 out of 5 stars
From Someone Who Should Know,
By
This review is from: Human Face (Hardcover)
Wow...What an awesome book! As an orthodontist, I found it incredibly interesting. Needless to say, I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in the human facination with the face. Also, be sure to check out the video/DVD that was produced after the book. Great fun with John Cleese and Elizabeth Hurley, with additional material. Especially fascinating- the section on facial beauty with Dr. Stephen Marquardt.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Arts & Photography > Design & Decorative Arts > Textile & Costume
- Books > Health, Mind & Body > Beauty & Fashion
- Books > Health, Mind & Body > Psychology & Counseling > Personality
- Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Evolution
- Books > Science > Biological Sciences > Anatomy
- Books > Science > Evolution
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
