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Review Quotes: "[A] lavishly illustrated and intellectually provocative study... She analyzes with precision the effect on perception of the face of the advent of photography, followed by social media, and raises troubling questions about the risks of using surgery to modify the face... You won't look in the mirror the same way again." -- Kirkus ReviewsBiographical Note: Dr. Fay Bound-Alberti founded the Centre for Technology and the Body at King's College London where she leads Interface, the world's first and only multi-million-pound project examining technologies of the face. Fay is often interviewed for TV and radio, including the BBC, ABC and CNN, and she has written for publications including the Lancet, TIME magazine, the Guardian and Times Literary Supplement. She lives with prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness, and is based in London. Review Quotes: "Intriguing... page after page, Bound-Alberti reveals the extent of our present-day fixation on faces and compulsion to mess with them. ... in The Face, a deeper intuition about human interaction shows."-- The Telegraph Review Quotes: "A stimulating reconsideration of the long-standing role of the face as a perceived window into a person's inner substance... [ The Face] makes for a fun and thought-provoking rumination on what it means to take each other at face value."-- Publisher's Weekly Review Quotes: "Thought-provoking... Her compelling narrative is deepened by her experiences with prosopagnosia, or face-blindness, which she shares via personal vignettes. The Face turns our acceptance of the face as a form of identity on its head and complicates a societal narrative so ubiquitous that we don't realize its pervasiveness until Bound-Alberti gently and thoroughly points it out. Through this lens, readers will take a hard look at assumptions about morality, judgment, and what it means to be human... The Face is a must-read for lovers of Replaceable You (2025) and other explorations of humanity." -- BooklistReview Quotes: "Lively and compel-ling... fascinating, far-ranging chapters... The Face is a thought-provoking, often moving read perfect for anyone who wishes to look inward as they put their best face forward." -- BookpageReview Quotes: "Poignant ... with this weighty, political, and beautifully written book, [Bound-Alberti] illuminates the changing conceptions of the face.-- The Lancet Publisher Marketing: Award-winning historian Fay Bound-Alberti synthesizes over twenty years of research to offer a sweeping cultural history of our most decisive--and sometimes divisive--body part. What's in a face? And how much power does it hold? The Face begins in the historical West, where we learn how humans have interpreted faces and connected specific features with ideas of morality, social hierarchy, psychology, and so much more, setting the stage for the cultural biases that now inform our everyday interactions across the globe. We then watch how new technologies that reflect or alter our face's appearance have transformed our idea of the Self over time--from the growth of portraiture in the Renaissance and the mass production of mirrors and photography in the nineteenth century, to twenty-first century innovations like digital avatars and face transplants. And throughout, we explore the face as the cultural artifact that it is: a surface that grows, is adorned, and then displayed, influencing who we are and might become as both individuals and members of society. Readers will walk away with a new understanding of the history, power, and future of the face, alongside its role in modern identity, genetics, technology, and beyond . Review Citations:
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