Author Description

Why do we bite people we feel affection towards?Why do dogs wag their tails? Or Cats purr?Why do we get embarrassed, and why does embarrassment make us blush?These, and many other questions about the emotional life of man and animals are answered in this remarkable book. The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals was an immediate best-seller when it was first published in 1872 and still provides the point of departure for research into emotion and facial expression. In his study of infants and children (including a delightfully objective study of his own baby's smiles and pouts), of the insane, of painting and sculpture, of cats and dogs and monkeys, and of the ways that people in different cultures express their feelings, Darwin's insights have not been improved upon by modern science.This definitive edition contains a substantial new Introduction and Afterword by Paul Ekman. Ekman also provides commentaries on the latest scientific knowledge to elaborate, support and occasionally challenge Darwin's insights. When it was originally published, The Expression was the first scientific book in English to contain photographic reproductions: for this edition, Ekman has returned to Darwin's original notes in order to produce, for the first time, a corrected, authoritative text illustrated by drawings and photographs positioned exactly as its author intended. He also includes new illustrations that Darwin discussed, but which have never appeared in previous editions.The book reminds us that, in addition to being the nineteenth century's most influential thinker, Darwin was also a writer of consummate skill. Beautifully and profusely illustrated, this new edition promises to delight and enthral a new generation of readers.