Waubonsee Community College

Original skin, exploring the marvels of the human hide, Maryrose Cuskelly

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 257-271)

no index present

non fiction

Original skin

bibliography

681500002

Maryrose Cuskelly

exploring the marvels of the human hide

"'Like the air we breathe, we take our skin for granted ... Yet it is remarkable; it mitigates and ameliorates the sometimes harsh world we dwell in, and is at the interface of so much of what we encounter. It is our border, the edge of ourselves, the point where we meet our universe.' Original Skin is at times a scientific study, remarking on the biological magic behind the human body's largest organ. At others it becomes an anthropological survey, dissecting separate societies' attitudes towards bare bodies, and the motives behind cultural rituals such as tattoos. However, Original Skin is, above all, a celebration of the human body; its tone one of absolute awe for the simultaneously protective and fragile membrane that divides us all from the world that surrounds us. Maryrose Cuskelly's book--in its examinations of everything from tickling to Botox to books bound in human derma--is a delightful meditation on skin."--, Provided by publisher

Empresses of the Japanese bath -- Skin: the body's envelope -- Touch me -- Melting pot: the colour of skin -- O, no! It is an ever-fix'd mark: scars, moles, and other blemishes -- Peculiar to humanity: blushing and tickling -- Unclean, unclean: skin and disease -- She's got perfect skin -- The lure of the tattoo -- Alison Whyte's boots: skinning and the human pelt -- Bound in human skin: anthropodermic bibliopegy -- You're nicked: the romance of fingerprints -- Peering into the abyss: burns injuries -- Leaves on the tree of life: the donor tissue bank of Victoria -- Second skins: semi-living sculpture -- The skin we're in