Our intimate connection with the world, skin protects us while advertising our health, our identity, and our individuality. This title celebrates the evolution of three unique attributes of human skin: its naked sweatiness, its distinctive sepia rainbow of colors, and its remarkable range of decorations.

List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Preface to the 2013 Edition Introduction 1 Skin Laid Bare 2 History 3 Sweat 4 Skin and Sun 5 Skin's Dark Secret 6 Color 7 Touch 8 Emotions, Sex, and Skin 9 Wear and Tear 10 Statements 11 Future Skin Glossary Notes References Index

"When you meet people, whether they're fully clothed on the street or scantily clad on the beach, the first part of their body that you see, smell, and perhaps touch is the skin. Skin is our largest and most visible organ, our personal poster board for decoration and advertisement. Nina Jablonski gives us the best and most fascinating account of everything that you might want to know about the packaging of our anatomy."—Jared Diamond, author of Collapse and Guns, Germs, and Steel"This fascinating book traces the long evolutionary history of our integument, revealing a whole host of essential skin functions that most of us have probably never even thought of."—Ian Tattersall, author of The Fossil Trail "An intriguing study of our body's most visible organ. I wish I'd written it myself."—Spencer Wells, author of The Journey of Man"A fascinating and comprehensive account of the biological and cultural aspects of human skin."—John Relethford, SUNY at Oneonta

“ Skin offers an accessible and well-referenced overview of many aspects of the biology of human skin. . . . Beauty may only be skin deep, but Jablonski shows us that the skin, be it thin or thick, is the true mirror of the soul.”