Customer Reviews

Making the Body Beautiful

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The other critic seems to suggest that historical research has no value--only the voices of the present are of use to him. His loss--Gilman is an amazing historian and insightful interpreter of social customs and texts--and there is much to be learned from any book he writes.

Sander Gilman has delivered an intellectual tour de force in his book Making The Body Beautifu: A cultural history of aesthetic surgery. In nine chapters he covers such fields as the rise and development of surgery, how surgery designed to specifically alter appearance rather than fight disease or stave off death, became not only possible, but socially acceptable; the racial and cultural drivers that underpinned demand for such procedures as otoplasty ( pinning back ears) and rhinoplasty (reshaping noses); and the rise of the social cult of the body erotic, the body beautiful and the war on aging. He explores the impact of the mutilating injuries of the great war on the development of surgery and he deals with the issues around trans-gender dysphoria and surgery designed to alter the outward sexuality of the human body.
His research is detailed and impeccable and his writing easy to read. This book is a "must-have" text for anyone interested in the two-way interaction between between Society at large and the microcosm of surgical intervention. It is both a useful reference for the academic or surgeon and a fascinating read for the interested layman.

Sander Gilman makes a good start on a great topic, but after a couple of chapters he falters and seems to loose his grip. Starting with some great tid-bits about plastic surgery ranging from buttock lifts to nose replacement, he wanders into an extended and boring research about Jewish hooked. Not satisfied, he adds an additional chapter about social history of the Jewish nose--perhaps interesting to some, but not what was promised in the title. From there the book is nothing but speculation from dead reaserch.

Two types of research are available for a writer: Live research and dead research. Live research consists mostly of interviews, discussions and question asking. Gilman will have none of it. His is dead research from cover to cover, finding his material mostly in the musty records of the 19th century. Even his photos and illustrations are from 100 years ago. To make matters worse, the publisher printed all the graphics ordinary book paper making them very blurry and almost impossible to decipher.

Most irritating of all is his habit of repeating his thesis on almost most every page as if he feels compelled to shove it down our throats. He tells us at least fifty times that people get plastic surgery in order to "pass" and feel happy. Come on Sander, enough is enough.

In sum: Sander Gilman, like Bill Clinton, starts with great promise but then proceeds to make a real mess of things.