Author(s): Michael Sims

Non-Fiction

From earlobe to erogenous zone, every part of the body has its own incredible story to tell. Adam's Navel takes us on a unique, offbeat and endlessly eye-opening tour of the human form from the tops of our heads to the ends of our toes, exploring the ways in which we have used, abused, perceived, adorned and celebrated our bodies over the centuries. Consider the purpose of eyelashes, the personal autograph of fingerprints, what we would do without a big toe and why men have nipples. Contemplate the phenomenon of kissing, the meaning of tanning, piercing and plastic surgery. Ponder Samson's hair, Joan Crawford's eyebrows, Cleopatra's lips and the goddess with the beautiful buttocks . Drawing on anatomy, natural history and evolutionary theory, Shakespeare Freud, mythology, the films of Hitchcock, pop songs and TV shows such as Sex and the City, Adam's Navel offers a totally new way of understanding the miraculous piece of work that is the human topography. You'll never look at your body in the same way again.