Breasts A Natural and Unnatural History

by Williams, Florence

• ISBN13: 9780393063189
• ISBN10: 0393063186
• Edition: 00
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-05-07
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Summary

Feted and fetishized, the breast is an evolutionary masterpiece. But in the modern world, the breast is changing. Breasts are getting bigger, arriving earlier and attracting newfangled chemicals. Increasingly, the odds are stacked against us in the struggle with breast cancer, even among men. What makes breasts so mercurial-and so vulnerable? The intrepid science journalist Florence Williams sets out to uncover the latest science from the fields of anthropology, biology, and medicine. Her investigation follows the life cycle of the breast from puberty to pregnancy to menopause, bringing her from a plastic surgeon's office where she learns about the importance of cup size in Texas to the lab where she discovers the presence of environmental toxins in her own breast milk. Endowed with a witty and inquisitive voice, Williams explores where breasts came from, where they have ended up, and what we can do to save them.