"An unexpected joy. Decoding the Hand is a fabulous book that charts a history of the hand from ancient sources to twentieth-century genetics, with both learning and lightness. It offers a broad history, lavishly illustrated, and is built around a series of individually interesting case studies that will appeal to readers interested in the history of the occult and magic as well as those interested in the history of science and medicine. And it is all framed within a broader historiographical argument about the development of medical knowledge and the contested process of disenchantment. As Bashford herself puts it toward the end of the book: 'This isn't (just) a history of fun and quirky medicine, it is the history of medicine.' Excellent."--David Stack, University of Reading, and author of "Queen Victoria's Skull: George Combe and the Mid-Victorian Mind"

"A masterpiece."-- "The New Statesman, on "The Huxleys: An Intimate History of Evolution""

"A crowning achievement. . . . Magnificent."-- "Australian Book Review, on "The Huxleys: An Intimate History of Evolution""

Best Books of 2022-- "The New Yorker, on "The Huxleys: An Intimate History of Evolution""

"A lot of what, and who, we think we are as individuals and social beings is concentrated in our hands. . . . In Decoding the Hand, Bashford is alive to the multiplicity of meanings held by these extremities. There are many stories to be told here, and Bashford tells them well."--Diane Purkiss "Literary Review"

"Over the centuries some of the finest minds of a given age have been drawn to reading palms and just what the lines may signify. Bashford . . . traces the long and colourful story of palm reading in what she calls a 'history of bodily semiotics' and what these signs might tell us medically, scientifically or psychologically. . . . An intriguing history of the human quest to discover the inner life in the outer signs through the prism of palmistry."

"Full of delightful historical twists and insights, Bashford argues that the practice of reading signs in the hand has been part of medical diagnostics from chiromancy in late medieval times to modern genetics. She shows how the lines and ridges on our hands have served as a language to those who can read it--a language that tells a story about the inner secrets of the body. Ingenious and fascinating, this is history at its best."--Janet Browne, Aramont Professor of the History of Science, Emeritus, Harvard University, and author of "Charles Darwin: A Biography" and editor of "The Quotable Darwin"

"A daring and joyously intelligent book."-- "The Wall Street Journal, on "The Huxleys: An Intimate History of Evolution""

"Wonderfully ambitious."-- "The Observer, on "The Huxleys: An Intimate History of Evolution""

"A tour de force of popular science writing."-- "The Sydney Morning Herald, on "The Huxleys: An Intimate History of Evolution""

Best Books of 2022-- "The Economist, on "The Huxleys: An Intimate History of Evolution""