Suicides

by Jean Baechler, Barry Cooper (Translator)

Every smile is the product of physical processes common to all humans. But since the dawn of civilization, the upward movement of the muscles of the face has carried a bewildering range of meanings. Supreme enlightenment is reflected in the holy smile of the Buddha, yet the Victorians thought of open-mouthed smiling as obscene, and nineteenth-century English and American slang equated "smiling" with drinking whisky.In A Brief History of the Smile, Angus Trumble deftly combines art, poetry, history, and biology into an intriguing portrait of the many nuances of the smile. Elegantly illustrating his points with emblematic works of art, from eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European paintings to Japanese woodblock prints, Trumble explores the meanings of smiling in a variety of cultures and contexts. Effortlessly mingling erudition, wit, and personal anecdote, Trumble weaves a seamless interdisciplinary tapestry, bringing his expertise as a writer, historian, and thinker to bear on the art of smiling in this warm and perceptive work.

474 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Sin Tien Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an important (and often overlooked) contribution to suicidology. Taking a side-step from the usually clinical leaning of suicide research, Baechler's method of inquiry here is more phenomenological. However, the premise for both is similar: suicide is rational, in so far that men could be understood as a rational being and thus his actions, no matter how bizarre could be rationally explained. The typology of suicide meanings is impressive enough but what really impresses me is how streamlined the structure of Baechler's arguments is. From introduction to his final conclusion, structure of his writing is straight as an arrow. An important and original piece of writing.