Tattoos, body piercings, wild hairstyles -- people all over the world have been decorating and changing their bodies for as long as anyone can remember. Body Bizarre, Body Beautiful fills you in on the how, why, and when of what people have done in the past, and what they're doing now.

Aesthetic surgery (AS) has become a cultural & medical fixture. This is the first systematic world history & cultural theory of AS. Touching on subjects as diverse as getting a nose jobÓ as a sweet-16 birthday present & the removal of male breasts in 7th-century Alexandria, Gilman argues that AS has such universal appeal because it helps people to be seen as a member of a group with which they want to or need to identify. He draws on an extraordinary range of sources to address basic questions such as: What surgical procedures have been performed? Which are considered aesthetic & why? Who are the patients? What is the place of aesthetic surgery in modern culture? Dozens of images of people before, during, & after surgery.

"You’d think a Miss America swimsuit winner would feel completely confident about her body, right? Not always! So I decided to write the book I wish I’d had as a teen and in college—an honest, funny, practical, medically accurate, totally reassuring guide to how women’s bodies actually look, smell, feel, behave, and change. Alongside real-deal photographs of women just like you and me (no airbrushing, no supermodels, no kidding) you’ll find medical pictures of things you need to be able to recognize, true confessions by yours truly, and the encouragement you need to appreciate the uniqueness, strength, and beauty of your body. What are you waiting for?"—Nancy Redd From fashion magazines to taboo Web sites, curious young women have access to tons of old wives' tales about and thousands of airbrushed and inaccurate images of the female body—misinformation and harmful portrayals that can lead to low self-esteem, self-destructive acts, or even disturbing plastic surgery procedures. Teaming up with a leading physician specializing in adolescent health issues, Harvard graduate and former Miss Virginia Nancy Redd now offers a down-to-earth, healing, and reassuring response to those damaging myths. In Body Drama, Redd gives girls insight into the issues they're often too ashamed to raise with a doctor or parent. She also reveals her own experiences with the culture of "American beauty," and shows readers all the many versions of "normal." From body hair and bras, to acne and weight issues, along with crucial issues such as the importance of a healthy self image, Body Drama is a groundbreaking book packed with informative fast facts, FYIs, how-tos, and moving personal anecdotes as well as hundreds of un-retouched photographs. A highly visual book, it’s the first of its kind for women: filled with real information and real photographs of real bodies, to celebrate all our different shapes and sizes. Named by Glamour magazine as one of America’s top-ten college women "most likely to succeed—at anything," Redd has spent the most recent years of her life on a mission to tackle the issues least discussed but most significant in young women’s lives. Celebrating the many versions of "normal," and replacing seriously erroneous information with the honest, medically proven truth in a language all girls can understand, Body Drama dares to empower a new generation—with facts instead of fantasies, and the priceless gift of self-knowledge.

This disturbing and eye-opening book explores the growing trade in human DNA, blood, tissues, bones, embryos, and other commodities of the burgeoning new biotechnology market.

If you've ever had a question about your body (maybe one you're afraid to ask?), this book is for you. Things like why we yawn, why skin wrinkles after a bath, or even whether it's possible to keep a severed head alive: The Odd Body explains these and many other silly, weird, bizarre, and fascinating body mysteries. Dr. Stephen Juan entertains and rivets readers with his detailed answers. Reading The Odd Body is like having your doctor patiently answer all your random questions, one by one. But Dr. Juan goes well beyond the usual and ordinary things people wonder about bodies, like why most individuals are right-handed or why you get chills when chalk screeches across a blackboard. He also tells readers how a dead body is made into a mummy, the success rate of those who bore holes in their own heads to relieve headaches, and much, much more. The Odd Body is a unique combination of fun and fascinating material that's delivered by an expert who happens to be a great storyteller. The book's question-and-answer format makes it easy to pick up, turn to any page, and immediately become drawn into the intricacies of anatomy and physiology while gaining a better understanding of the human need to know more about ourselves.

A SUNDAY TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR 'A triumph' Guardian 'Glorious ... makes the past at once familiar, exotic and thrilling.' Dominic Sandbrook 'A brilliant book' Mail on Sunday Just like us, medieval men and women worried about growing old, got blisters and indigestion, fell in love and had children. And yet their lives were full of miraculous and richly metaphorical experiences radically different to our own, unfolding in a world where deadly wounds might be healed overnight by divine intervention, or the heart of a king, plucked from his corpse, could be held aloft as a powerful symbol of political rule. In this richly-illustrated and unusual history, Jack Hartnell uncovers the fascinating ways in which people thought about, explored and experienced their physical selves in the Middle Ages, from Constantinople to Cairo and Canterbury. Unfolding like a medieval pageant, and filled with saints, soldiers, caliphs, queens, monks and monstrous beasts, it throws light on the medieval body from head to toe - revealing the surprisingly sophisticated medical knowledge of the time in the process. Bringing together medicine, art, music, politics, philosophy and social history, there is no better guide to what life was really like for the men and women who lived and died in the Middle Ages. Medieval Bodies is published in association with Wellcome Collection.

Gross and Ghastly: Human Body is an alternative, fun factbook, which draws children in with its gruesome nature, but provides essential facts about the human body that every child should know. Did you know that there are about 600 hairs in a person's eyebrow? Or can you guess how much of your life will you spend on the toilet? Learn about all the gross things that the human body does, with this fantastically gruesome factbook! Focusing on everything truly terrible that happens to us, Gross and Ghastly: Human Body is a stomach churning journey that investigates how and why our bodies can be so disgusting. Travel from your head to your toes and discover a variety of funny facts, like why your farts smell and how bogies get in your nose! Packed full of facts, puzzles, and games, young readers are sure to find out something new and revolting about their bodies. Including delightfully disgusting illustrations, this is a must-have for every young budding scientist or 6-9 year old who loves a bit of toilet humour!

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "My Body offers a lucid examination of the mirrors in which its author has seen herself, and her indoctrination into the cult of beauty as defined by powerful men. In its more transcendent passages . . . the author steps beyond the reach of any 'Pygmalion' and becomes a more dangerous kind of beautiful. She becomes a kind of god in her own right: an artist." —Melissa Febos, The New York Times Book Review A "MOST ANTICIPATED" AND "BEST OF FALL 2021" BOOK FOR * VOGUE * TIME * ESQUIRE * PEOPLE * USA TODAY * CHICAGO TRIBUNE * LOS ANGELES TIMES * SHONDALAND * ALMA * THRILLEST * NYLON * FORTUNE A deeply honest investigation of what it means to be a woman and a commodity from Emily Ratajkowski, the archetypal, multi-hyphenate celebrity of our time Emily Ratajkowski is an acclaimed model and actress, an engaged political progressive, a formidable entrepreneur, a global social media phenomenon, and now, a writer. Rocketing to world fame at age twenty-one, Ratajkowski sparked both praise and furor with the provocative display of her body as an unapologetic statement of feminist empowerment. The subsequent evolution in her thinking about our culture’s commodification of women is the subject of this book. My Body is a profoundly personal exploration of feminism, sexuality, and power, of men's treatment of women and women's rationalizations for accepting that treatment. These essays chronicle moments from Ratajkowski’s life while investigating the culture’s fetishization of girls and female beauty, its obsession with and contempt for women’s sexuality, the perverse dynamics of the fashion and film industries, and the gray area between consent and abuse. Nuanced, fierce, and incisive, My Body marks the debut of a writer brimming with courage and intelligence.

New York Times bestselling author Tosca Reno knows exactly how you feel. She went from being a flabby, 200+ pound woman to a slim and sexy fitness expert—all past the age of 40! Now, for the first time ever, she reveals her secrets to looking better every year. Using the simple, Eat-Clean principles that have helped millions lose weight and featuring all-new advice from Tosca and her team of top experts, discover how you, too, can: Boost your metabolism to burn fat fast Turn back the clock and age-proof your body Look and feel younger than you have in years Create your best body—now!

In its 68 fully illustrated, 99.9% fact-free chapters, What Body Part Is That? will explain everything you ever needed to know about your body without the boring technical jargon and scientific accuracy that normally clog up the pages of books of this type. Never again will you be stuck for an answer when somebody comes up to you, points at a part of your body and demands to know, "What body part is that?" That is all there is to know about this book.