Field Guide to Gestures: How to Identify and Interpret Virtually Every Gesture Known to Man

by Nancy Armstrong, Melissa Wagner

Finally, a field guide to interpreting more than 100 international gestures, from the wave to the finger, from the shrug to the nod.

Here's easy access to the essential information about common (and some not-so-common) gestures you may encounter at home or abroad. Field Guide to Gestures is organized into handy sections for quick reference when time is of the essence and interpretation is everything. If a man bends his torso forward when meeting you, turn to the "Arrival/Departure" chapter to learn more about the bowing gesture. When the woman at the end of the bar flips her hair and looks your way, turn to the "Mating" chapter to learn just what she's trying to say. And if your friend has intertwined his index finger and middle fingers as the night's lottery numbers are being read, go to "No Words Needed" to learn more about the crossed fingers gesture.

This practical guide includes more than 100 full-color photographs of the world's most common gestures, plus cross-referenced descriptions throughout, including historical background and common usage. Helpful step-by-step directions and detailed line drawings teach you how to perform each gesture correctly.

Genres: Reference, Language

248 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2003

About the author

Nancy Armstrong is a scholar, critic and professor of English at Duke University.

Reviews

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 4 out of 5]

So tongue in cheek it almost swallows it, but you will find yourself trying to follow the step by step "Execution:" directions, invariably starting with "Make a fist with one hand" and often demonstrated with line figures.

Call me crazy, but this book will make you smile.

[Mark Pemble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly witty and informative. I have always wondered how different cultures interpret simple innocent gestures that North Americans give daily.

I will refer back to this book in the future.

[Chris Steele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book. Learned a few gestures but knew most of them though not all their different meanings. I’m unsure which folks to pass it onto as most gestures are learned as we live.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting, informative and comprehensive collection.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book, if maybe a little disappointing - it felt kind of padded-out, like more was sometimes written than needed to be. I was also hoping for more gestures that I'd never seen/heard of. I suppose that means I was hoping that there was a unique Ibo gesture meaning "check out the communications satellite" or a Uighur hand sign meaning "Hey, back into the yurt; here come some Han Chinese."

Good to have that whole "live long and prosper" thing cleared up finally. Also valuable: the entry for the 'smile', an expression long in need of thorough exegesis.

[Helga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great bathroom reading!