In The Eyes Of The Beholder

This text, written to acompany an exhibition of the same title at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Spring 1998, provides a non-technical introduction to the science of the human face and the psychology of face perception. Illustrated throughout, the book includes reproductions of portraits from the gallery's collections, as well as state-of-the-art computer graphics. Incorporating discussion of vision, communication, memory and recognition, sociobiology, and neuroscience, this is a broad-ranging introduction to the topic.

Its the end of the first Gulf war. A young Scottish boy is kidnapped from his home in the UAE. The plan goes wrong as one of the kidnappers is killed. The remaining three decide to get out of the country. Two leave by boat, taking the boy, so that he will not be found and traced back to them. The third goes to Pakistan and rejoins the Mujuardine who are trying to remove the government of Afghanistan. The boat is shipwrecked off the coast of Oman and one of the kidnappers and the boy make it to safety. They find a small fishing village where the stay until the kidnapper comes face to face with the boys father. He and the boy move on, firstly inland, across the mountains, to the North of the country where they find refuge with an old couple who look after the boy as family. Then they are forced to move again, this time east along the edge of the Rub al Khali, the Empty Quarter. From there they cross the border into Yemeni and travel to the village in which the kidnapper was born. Following what appears to be the end of the conflict in Afghanistan the third Kidnapper turns his attention to terrorism. Firstly, with the first bombing of the twin towers in New York, America and then through a series of other similar atrocities, including the attack on the USS Cole in Aden. The boys father never gives up. His job takes him into Oman, The Sudan and into Yemeni. He follows up on any small piece of information that comes his way, believing that one day he will find his son.

Recollections of the author's friendship with various figures of the literary and artistic world including, Paul Nash, Edward Marsh, Max Beerbohm.

In the eyes of the ancient Greeks and Romans, physical imperfections and infirmities were comparable to marks of the barbarian. The distinguished historian Robert Garland offers the first detailed investigation of the plight of those Greeks and Romans who, owing either to deformity or to disability, did not meet their society's exacting criteria for the ideal human form. Drawing on classical drama and poetry, historical works, medical tracts, vase painting and sculpture, mythology, and ethnography, Garland examines the high incidence of disability and deformity among the Greek and Roman population. From the deaf, the blind, and the lame to hunchbacks, dwarfs, and giants, to those even more severely disabled, he explores the lives of the handicapped and their place in ancient society. Garland discusses medical treatments, jobs available to the disabled, religious and scientific explanations for congenital deformities, and the prevalence of belief in monstrous races. And he analyzes how, through public rituals, social institutions, literature, and art, ancient society as a whole utilized deformity for its own purposes. The handicapped served as living testimony to the power of divine retribution, and were also regarded as scapegoats, portents, embodiments of evil, objects of amusement, and proof of nature's ingenuity. Referring frequently to the condition of the disabled in contemporary society, The Eye of the Beholder contributes an important chapter in the history of the treatment of the disabled and offers a revealing introduction to a relatively neglected aspect of ancient life.

Beauty, as the popular proverb says, is in the eye of the beholder. But, what about ugliness? The bearded man with the dark, worried eyes asks himself that same question every time he falls to his knees in prayer. He prays with the fervor of a man who does not yet know his time is up; that weighty pressure on his chest insisting he do something... The flaxen-haired woman sits in her office surrounded by colleagues who appear, for all intents and purposes, to hang on her every word. She glances outside at the striking alignment of blue skies, clouds, and glaring steel and glass skyscrapers. She feels nearly impervious to the elements, high up in her office...As he sits inside an armored military vehicle winding its way through narrow village roads, the blue-eyed boy glances out at the villagers standing in their doorways, many of them clutching young children close to their sides. He feels excitement and terror all at once...Three people, three seemingly disparate circumstances. The intersection of their lives will leave each one grappling with life's most challenging questions, and none will leave unchanged.

A hard-edged businessman and a beautiful art expert make a tantalizing mind-body connection at a new age resort until a killer threatens their piece of paradise in this “fun-filled and sensational tale by the incomparable Jayne Ann Krentz” (RT Book Reviews). Alexa Chambers has a flair for style, an eye for art, and a reputation in tatters after blowing the whistle on an employer who was selling fakes to wealthy clients. Now she runs a shop in her Arizona hometown, but she’s determined to rebuild her career even if it means taking risks. She begins secretly consults on an exquisite art collection being installed at the new Avalon Resorts. Her scheme might just work—if she can steer clear of the resort’s owner, the enigmatic and possibly dangerous J. L. Trask. Alexa was a scared teenager the last time she saw Trask, the man who accused her stepfather of murder. Insisting his dad’s fatal car crash had been no accident, Trask vowed one day he’d come back to Avalon for revenge. Now, twelve years later, their meeting is inevitable. Their attraction is immediate. And their chances of bliss are infinitesimal. Trask wants to piece together the past with Alexa’s help and get closer to this dazzling deco diva. Alexa wants to protect her family and figure out Trask’s real motivations. But when a killer emerges from the shadows, they have no choice but to team up to solve a deadly crime from long ago. As they trade sizzling sparks and snappy repartee, their trail leads to a trendy spa called the Dimensions Institute, whose flaky denizens and strange atmosphere suggest there is more hidden there than meets the eye. They don’t need a crystal ball to see that their survival—and relationship—depends on more than tantric breathing or a heavenly passion. They need a little help from a higher power: a true and trustworthy love.