Trumble, Angus. A Brief History of the Smile.TRUMBLE, Angus. A brief history of the smile. Perseus, Basic Books. 226p. illus. notes. bibliog. index. c2004. 0-465-08779-5. $14.00. SA In some ways, the erudition er·u·di·tion n. Deep, extensive learning. See Synonyms at knowledge. Erudition of editors—Hare. Noun 1. and close focus on a small topic of this book doesn't make it the typical volume a secondary school library would need. But the topic--smiles and smiling--is so universally beguiling, and the way Trumble wears his erudition so lightly makes it a book that is quite accessible. It is also rewarding whether the whole thing is read (just seven short chapters and less than 180 pages of text) or someone just browses through the illustrations. Trumble is an art curator at Yale, and he knows how to do lots of research and use exactly the right bit in the right spot for readers. The book is part art, part psychology, part sociology, part history, part pop culture survey--always amusing. The chapter titles are short but mysteriously inviting: Decorum DECORUM. Proper behaviour; good order. 2. Decorum is requisite in public places, in order to permit all persons to enjoy their rights; for example, decorum is indispensable in church, to enable those assembled, to worship. , Lewdness Behavior that is deemed morally impure or unacceptable in a sexual sense; open and public indecency tending to corrupt the morals of the community; gross or wanton indecency in sexual relations. An important element of lewdness is openness. , Desire, Mirth, Wisdom, Deceit Deceit Aimwell pretends to be titled to wed into wealth. [Br. Lit.: The Beaux’ Stratagem] Ananias lies about amount of money received for land. [N.T.: Acts 5:1–6] Ananias Club all its members are liars. [Am. and, finally, Happiness? Illustrations from Eastern and Western art and modern advertising appear every few pages. Daniel Levinson Daniel J. Levinson was one of the founders of the field of Positive Adult Development. He was born in New York City on May 28, 1920. He completed his dissertation at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1947, on the measurement of ethnocentrism. , Teacher, Thayer Acad., Braintree, MA S--Recommended for senior high school students. A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion