Foot: A Playful Biography

by Kathy Vanderlinden

Kathy Vanderlinden has collected a closetful of fascinating information about the physical foot, foot fashion, foot fetishism, and other aspects of that part of the body so many of us hate. Physically, our feet are unsung heroes, absorbing some five million pounds of pressure per day as they do their job of carting us around. Then there is the giddy pleasure, the lust, the allure, the therapeutic value of shoes for the shoe lover, from the stiltlike chopine of 15th -century France and the outlandishly wide duckbill of 16th-century England to the gorgeous Manolo Blahniks of today. Vanderlinden also offers tantalizing tidbits about foot afflictions (bunions, corns, and calluses), foot rituals and symbolism (from foot washing to sipping champagne from a lover’s shoe), foot fairytales and folklore (Cinderella being the pre-eminent example), and foot beauty treatments (Cleopatra had a slew of them).
Throughout, photos of beautiful, grotesque, and sexy shoes; the foot in paintings and other works of art; famous feet; and foot ornamentation illustrate the many faces of the foot. This eclectic and enchanting compendium will delight all those who have despaired of their feet, been seduced by a pair of shoes, or spent time having a pedicure.

112 pages, Hardcover

First published September 23, 2003

Reviews

[Aurélien Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

'According to one estimate, about one in 200 men have a special regard for feet or footwear.'

Well, I guess that makes for one in 200 men with good taste! And, counting among them Baudelaire, Thomas Hardy, Francis Scott Fitzgerald, Tolstoy, Omar Kayyam, or again Dostoevsky (and that's only the ones the author mentions here!) such men of good taste can smile: they are in good company indeed! Same goes for those women who have a thing for footsies too -collecting shoes (the amazing collections some can have!) or the ones liking a bit of tickling when 'dot dot dot', they can smile too for being in good company too (both the Egyptian queen Hatshepsut and Catherine the Great, for example, are said to have liked their tickling when...)! :-)

Here's indeed the thing with this book: it gathers a lot of titbits and facts about feet that are a funny delight to uncover. Cinderella, fetishism, ceremonial ornaments (e.g. henna painting for wedding ceremonies...), foot-binding, women shoes' history... Illustrated by poetic quotations and beautiful pictures (some oh la la!) here's a playful, sexy and quirky compendium. It has no pretention whatsoever, so is a quick and easy read; but how entertaining!

Enjoy.

[Kenneth Kwame Welsh]

The best part of the book is the front cover. Fantastic picture! But I'll let someone else give you their review: A Kid's Review

"This is a small hardcover book, and very short at about 50 pages. It's NOT a foot fetishist book (especially considering that there are only about 5 or 6 photos of women's feet within), it really is what the title conveys: a concise bio of the foot and footwear in history, from the ancients up to a brief mention of the Internet foot fetish craze. If you can get it used here (I found it under one of the marketplace sellers for like $3.50) it's worth it for the short read. Truth be told, the factoids that make up the text are usually basic common knowledge thingies like Chinese footbinding, descriptions of foot diseases, shoe crazes through history and snippets from poems that mention feet. I was actually interested in more on the erotica of female feet but can't blame Ms. Vanderlinden (a children's book author apparently!) since this wasn't the goal. A very nice format and a curiosity for the shelf...if you're ready for your houseguests' questions, especially when they see the "playful" jacket photo."

http://www.amazon.com/Foot-Playful-Bi...