Gestures: Their Origins and Distribution

by Desmond Morris, Peter Marsh, Peter Collett

Examining the gesture repertoire found in twenty-five countries, this study of conscious body language interprets the actions, postures, movements, and expressions of people engaged in conversation

Genres: Psychology, Reference, Science, Nonfiction, Language, Anthropology, History

328 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Desmond John Morris (24 January 1928 - 19 April 2026) was an English zoologist, ethologist and surrealist painter, as well as a popular author in human sociobiology.
He is known for his 1967 book The Naked Ape, and for his television programmes such as Zoo Time.

After the death of his wife in 2018 he lived with his son and family in Ireland.[ Morris died in Naas, County Kildare, on 19 April 2026, at the age of 98.

abridged from Wikipedia

Reviews

[Sara G · Rating 4 out of 5]

My boyfriend lent me this book and said it's weirdly fascinating, so I took it with me when I had to sit all day at a track meet. I actually ended up thoroughly enjoying it. It's a bit dated in places, obviously, being published in 1979, but the research and research notes are fascinating and I enjoyed the pictures quite a bit. I wonder how a more current study of these same gestures would differ, given our cultural shifts since then? This was a super fun read.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Er zitten interessante stukken in maar het geheel is vrij saai. Een opsomming van de verschillende interpretaties per land of regio. Bovendien hebben ze een aantal gebaren gekozen die maar op in een heel beperkte regio voorkomen en waarbij de bekomen informatie dus weinig relevant is.

[Lynzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so interesting and informative. I had a lot of fun learning more about gestures I didn’t know and more about the origins of the ones I did. Now I have a lot of semi-useless information to fill small talk when I’m drunk at a party. 👍

[ｓｉｍ ✪ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Forse sono stato tradito dalla grande aspettativa che avevo per questo saggio, forse le teorie in esso esplicate sono ormai sorpassate, non me la sento di consigliarne la lettura.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd read Morris' bestselling Naked Ape as a kid and had been profoundly affected by it. This one, picked up at a discount, was read one cool evening in the living room at the family cottage in southwestern Michigan.