Aesthetic Surgery

No longer the preserve of rich celebrities, cosmetic surgery has seen a huge development in the 21st century as procedures become more sophisticated and alternatives such as Botox increase expectations of a young look. Rhinoplasties (nose jobs) and scar treatments go back to ancient Egypt, with advances in reconstructive surgery coinciding with the 15th century epidemic of syphilis and the horrific injuries of World War I.

Nowadays it is possible for almost anyone to be transformed into a superbly good-looking person. Los Angeles has been home to the biggest per capita concentration of plastic surgeons since the introduction of the Hollywood camera zoom in the 1920s, when Garbo got her teeth fixed, Dietrich had a nose job and even Monroe had some flaws corrected. For this big and comprehensive book, 40 cosmetic surgeons were interviewed and photographed at work.

They were asked if they believed beauty was based on appearance, whether beautiful people had better sex, if old people could be considered beautiful, and what their personal ideal of beauty was. Most believed that good sex was unrelated to beauty, and many of them referred to great works of art when asked for an ideal. The first section of the book is a gallery of artworks, and the following chapters cover the history of aesthetic surgery, techniques of different operations and the work of major practitioners.

The book is fully illustrated with colour photos, but be warned: not only are there many fascinating "before" and "after" studies, there are also quite a few dramamtic colour pictures taken "during", and this includes all body parts, including a sex change.