{"product_id":"the-face-a-cultural-history","title":"The Face: A Cultural History","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\"The Face \u003c\/i\u003eis a meticulously researched and unsettling book, and Bound-Alberti's overarching message is poignant.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe New Statesman\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\"The Face \u003c\/i\u003ehas blown me away. It's utterly fascinating, beautifully written, scholarly yet entertaining and I completely love it. I couldn't admire Fay Bound-Alberti more.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eDame Joanna Lumley, award-winning actress, activist, and author of A Queen for All Seasons\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"An elegant and engaging history... at its most compelling when it becomes polemical, showing how the sexism, classism and racism that informs how we have long perceived faces is reinforced today.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Equal parts gripping and scholarly... a timely book that gets to the heart of contemporary society.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Like the double-faced god Janus, Bound-Alberti's piercing gaze is split between our rich past and our uncertain future, enabling her to offer some fascinating insights about the nature of human identity. She uses both the wide-angle lens and the magnifying glass to dazzling effect. A compelling and thought-provoking book that is sure to linger in the reader's mind.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eLindsey Fitzharris, New York Times Bestselling author of The Facemaker\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"[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... \u003cb\u003eYou won't look in the mirror the same way again.\u003c\/b\u003e\"\u003c\/p\u003e-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eDr. Fay Bound-Alberti \u003c\/b\u003efounded 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 \n\u003ci\u003eLancet\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eTIME\u003c\/i\u003e magazine, the \n\u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e and \n\u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e. She lives with prosopagnosia, also known as \n\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eface blindness, and is based in London. \n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Intriguing... page after page, Bound-Alberti reveals the extent of our present-day fixation on faces and compulsion to mess with them. ... in \n\u003ci\u003eThe Face, \u003c\/i\u003e a deeper intuition about human interaction shows.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Telegraph\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A stimulating reconsideration of the long-standing role of the face as a perceived window into a person's inner substance... [ \n\u003ci\u003eThe Face\u003c\/i\u003e] makes for a fun and thought-provoking rumination on what it means to take each other at face value.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher's Weekly\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Thought-provoking... Her compelling narrative is deepened by her experiences with prosopagnosia, or face-blindness, which she shares via personal vignettes. \u003ci\u003eThe Face\u003c\/i\u003e 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... \u003ci\u003eThe Face\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003ea must-read for lovers of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eReplaceable You\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e (2025) and other explorations of humanity.\u003c\/b\u003e\"\u003c\/p\u003e-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eBooklist\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Lively and compel-ling... fascinating, far-ranging chapters... \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Face\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e is a thought-provoking, often moving read perfect for anyone who wishes to look inward as they put their best face forward.\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eBookpage\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Poignant ... with this weighty, political, and beautifully written book, [Bound-Alberti] illuminates the changing conceptions of the face.-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Lancet\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eAward-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. \u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e What's in a face? And how much power does it hold? \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eThe Face\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \n\u003cbr\u003e 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 \n\u003cb\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 03\/30\/2026 (EAN 9781538766538, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/01\/2026 (EAN 9781538766538, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eBooklist\u003c\/span\u003e 06\/01\/2026 (EAN 9781538766538, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Grand Central Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496151974166,"sku":"9781538766538","price":36.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9781538766538.jpg?v=1783054150","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/the-face-a-cultural-history","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}