In this collision between art and science, history and pop culture, acclaimed art historian Trumble presents this witty, odd, and fascinating book that is filled with diverse anecdotes on the finger's essential role in writing, sports, crime, and, of course, the eponymous show of contempt.

Reviews

In the words of author Angus Trumble, The Finger `contains a lot of information that may be useful for future inquirers about fingers and finger lore,' as well as being interesting for the rest of us too. And, hey, I may just be a future-finger-lore-enquirer, because I found this book truly fascinating. Trumble fuses the worlds of medicine and history, sociology and economics, and throws in a bit of sport and combat for good measure. But the focus here is mainly on art and art history. Trumble, from the Yale Center for British Art and former Curator of European Art at the Art Gallery of South Australia, is incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about art, and he speaks with reverence of sculptures and paintings both ancient and modern. Yet his wisdom knows no bounds, and he asks and answers many questions that I, for one, would never have thought about-yet am suddenly fascinated by. Why do we point? Why is the middle finger rude? Why do we wear gloves? What's the deal with nail polish? How do fingers work? You could say we know our fingers pretty much like the backs of our hands . but how well do we really know them? Hannah Cartmel is a bookseller and former publishing assistant

Praise for "The Finger" "[A] cheerfully encompassing natural, cultural, and artistic survey of the finger. Trumble is at once ferociously comprehensive and silly . . . This is the sort of exuberant nonfiction in which you learn something surprising on every page, and not only does Trumble amass a great wealth of finger facts, his interpretations are deft and pleasing in their acuity, and his delight in the entire endeavor is contagious." --Donna Seaman, "Booklist" "An adept cultural tour of our fingers . . . Intelligent, passionate and amusing." --"Kirkus Reviews""" "[Trumble] blends art history, anatomy, and etymology in this analysis of finger lore . . . This prodigiously researched work offers many gold nuggets of wisdom." --"Publishers Weekly""" Praise for "A Brief History of the Smile"

"A charming scholarly analysis of simpers and grins across space and time." --"The Boston Globe"