"Above all others, the skin is the organ of meeting. The skin meets the eyes, the skin of others, the environment. It gives identity and shape to the human form, lends us our appearance, hides our innards. The glands within the skin lend us our unique scent, and the skin reflects on its surface the feelings of the being within..." This witty and elegantly-written book explores the fascinating, paradoxical life of the skin and how it affects us throughout our lives. It takes us into the world of two eminent dermatologists, husband and wife, who we first meet as they rejoice over the perfect skin of their newborn baby--and contemplate the central role it will play in her life and health. Each chapter that follows contains a fascinating case history exploring one of the mysteries of the skin: its essential role in the immune system, its exquisite sensory sensitivity, the way in which it communicates everything from sexual signals to dysfunction deep in the body. Drs. Balin and Pratt are particularly alert to the psychological dimension of skin--how important it is to our identity, how it brings mind and body together. Their passion for their subject and their care for their patients are evident on every page.

The Life of the Skin

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Balin, Arthur K.

Balin, Loretta Pratt

Balin MD, Loretta Pratt

WHITTLESEY, MARIETTA

Beauty, Grooming, & Style

Bantam]

In the tradition of Diane Ackerman's A Natural History of the Senses and Oliver Sacks's The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, this witty and elegantly written book offers fascinating new insights about our skin--and ourselves. Leading dermatologists Arthur Balin and Loretta Pratt Balin take us on a wonderful ride beneath our most visible, revealing, and overlooked organ: the skin. The authors highlight the skin's functions in sensory perception and the immune system. They detail the amazing ability of the skin to communicate everything from sexual signals to the presence of dysfunctions and problems within the body. They explain why babies smell nice, why we get wrinkles, and how wounds heal. And they tell fascinating and moving stories from their patients' lives and their own--from the schoolteacher whose skin turned into a stiff shell, to the facelift Arthur performed on his own father. With the Balins' passion for their subject and care for their patients bringing life to every page, this unique book will change the way you look at yourself forever.

The Life of the Skin: What It Hides, What It Reveals, and How It Communicates

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Books by Balin, Loretta Pratt