Beauty

by John Miller (Editor), Diane Ackerman (Foreword)

Camille Paglia talks about pagan perfection, Sophia Loren gives the girls a few tips on vanity, Edmund Burke waxes philosophical about the qualities of beauty, Toni Morrison has a couple of things to say about Ernest Hemingway's idea of good looks, and Helen Gurley Brown cautions us never to apply lipliner with a dull pencil. Theoretical writings on bosom size, ugliness, and hair loss; odes and poetic rhapsodies in the name of beauty; two bewitching versions of "Beauty and the Beast"; and a foreword by Diane Ackerman make Beauty alluring to every beholder.

Genres: Nonfiction

305 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finally finished this compilation of fiction, science, and opinion on the subject of beauty. While I found some of the content interesting, more than a little of it was downright dry, academic, or just plain boring.

[Moe s. · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A woman-loving definition of beauty supplants desperation with play, narcissism with self-love, dismemberment with wholeness, absence with presence, stillness with animation.”
-Naomi Wolf, The Beauty Myth

I don’t read too many anthologies, but this by far is my favorite. From poetry and gossip to drama and memoir, John Miller brings together a wonderful collection to stir upon the motif of beauty. I dare argue that this collection is as much about death as well as beauty. In this collection Miller dissects the multi-faceted power of beauty, from those who impose beauty standards and this who are victims of beauty. It is strange that many of the writers here who impose beauty treat beauty as if it is one unchanging, unfeeling consciousness. While the writers who live and believe in beauty know that beauty is an ever changing consciousness that belongs only to the living.

“He believes in beauty, he’s Venus as a boy.” -Bjork

[Ruby Jensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um what a bizarre mix of essays and prose and poetry??????? Like what????????????? I was so confused. We had essays on beauty tips but also an essay from The Beauty Myth??? Oh and Romeo and Juliet and Beauty and the Beast??? So strange don’t understand