The Remarkable Life of the Skin

The Remarkable Life of the Skin

An intimate journey across our surface

Summary

- Shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize 2019
- A Sunday Times 'MUST READ'

- 'An exciting introduction to a little-known microscopic universe.' Sunday Times

- 'A seriously entertaining book.' Melanie Reid, The Times
- As read on RADIO 4's BOOK OF THE WEEK
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How does our diet affect our skin? What makes the skin age? And why can't we tickle ourselves?

Providing a cover for our delicate and intricate bodies, the skin is our largest, fastest growing and yet least understood organ. We see it, touch it and live in it every day. It's a habitat for a mesmerizingly complex world of micro-organisms and physical functions that are vital to our health and our survival. It's also one of the first things people see about us and is crucial to our sense of identity. Our skin plays a central role in our lives. And yet how much do we really know about it?

Through the lenses of science, sociology and history, Dr Monty Lyman leads us on a journey across our most underrated and unexplored organ. Examining our microbiome, our love of tattoos and whether or not beauty products really work, he reveals how the skin is far stranger and more complex than you've ever imagined.

Reviews

  • This microsopic look at skin is crawling with revelations, from tiny mites to cellulite and skin care... An exciting introduction to a little-known universe and to a talented new writer.
    Sunday Times

About the author

Monty Lyman

Dr Monty Lyman is a medical doctor, researcher and author who specializes in the relationship between the mind and the immune system. He is an Academic Clinical Fellow at the University of Oxford. His first book, The Remarkable Life of the Skin, was shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize, was one of the Sunday Times Best Books of 2019 and was a Radio 4 Book of the Week. An essay from his second book, The Painful Truth, won the 2020 Royal Society of Medicine’s Pain Medicine Prize.
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