About the Author

Richard T. Gray is the Byron W. and Alice L. Lockwood Professor in the Humanities at the University of Washington. He teaches in the Department of Germanics.

Reviews

Richard T. Gray's study of German theories of physiognomy is by far the most comprehensive such work ever written - in any language. Exploring the theoretical and applied views from the 'father of modern physiognomy' Lavater in the eighteenth century to the Nazis, Gray illustrates the development of the claims that surface appearance reflects underlying meanings. This assumption haunts German (and through them European) consciousness for more than a century. A brilliant, well-written book that is important to historians of science as well as to historians of literature. - Sander L. Gilman, University of Illinois at Chicago; ""About Face is an innovative account of the origins of Nazi racial theories. Drawing on his magisterial command of German intellectual history, Gray explores the tradition of physiognomy, the strange belief that one's body and face reveal the content of one's character. This book is indispensable for understanding 'race' today as much as during the Holocaust."" - Russell A. Berman, Stanford University