“A rich mix of just about everything you would want to know about the necessary and complex covering of your body. . . .a vivid, compelling history.”—New England Journal of Medicine



“In Skin, her fascinating, nuanced, often exhilarating, and for the most part crisply written new book, Nina Jablonski . . . urges us to consider our skin as we have never, even in our pubertal angst, pored over it before. . . . May you read it with pleasure and by the sweat of your brow.”—Natalie Angier, American Scholar



"Jablonski shows us that skin, be it thick or thin, is the true mirror of the soul."—Science



“Jablonski has an endearing sense of humor that keeps the narrative nimble as it delivers surprisingly dense lessons on anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, and sociology. . . . A fascinating read.”—San Francisco Chronicle



“[Jablonski’s] fascinating book is as all-encompassing as skin itself.”—Financial Times

"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

W.W. Howells Book Award, American Anthropological Association