Product Description
We all know one hard and undeniable truth: Physical beauty comes with tremendous power, and tremendous benefits. Those who possess it are generally luckier in love, more likely to be popular, and more apt to get better grades in school. But very few of us realize just how much looks affect every aspect of our lives. Recent studies document that people blessed with good looks earn about 10% more than their average-looking colleagues. They are also more likely to get hired and promoted at work. What exactly is this "physical attractiveness" phenomenon and how does it affect each and every one of us? Dr. Gordon L. Patzer has devoted the last 30 years to investigating this unsettling phenomenon for both women and men, and how it touches every part of our lives. In Looks, he reveals not only its impact on romance, but also on family dynamics, performance in school, career, courtroom proceedings, politics and government. Looks is the first book to explore how the power of beauty affects both sexes and how the rise of reality TV shows, cosmetic surgery, and celebrity culture have contributed to our culture’s overall obsession with being beautiful. Unflinching and topical, Looks uncovers the sometimes ugly truth about beauty and its profound effects on all our lives.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 9 reviews)

If you are ugly, you are in trouble by Jaewoo Kim (Santa Monica, CA)

4 Stars
October 29, 2009
This book's research and thesis are simple: if you are not physically attractive, you are going to experience a harder life than usual given everything else is equal. A more physically attractive person, everything else being equal, will almost invariably have far better choice of partners, jobs, income, education, service, and even courtroom outcome than a physically unattractive person. You thought all those beauty obsessed people were little crazy? Well think again, given the overwhelming power of physical attractiveness, they could be the smart and sane ones in this insane world. The book, rightfully, does not delve into moral battles of right vs wrong. That is for every individuals to decide for themselves. What the book unmistakably makes clear, however, is that one's physical attractiveness matters a BIG deal in practically everything (even parents like the better looking child more). So you think being overweight and unkempt has little bearing in how successful you can be and how people perceive you? Think again. Lose that weight and get a makeover. If you are physically unattractive, you are in deeper trouble than you know. The world simply doesn't like physically unattractive people very much. To make matters worse, the world LOVES physically attractive people. Ugly people definitely gets the shaft. So make sure you look your best for the world. Be thin, dress well, practice good hygiene (including dental), and do everything else that enhances your appearance. Plastic surgery? I can see why it could be worthwhile after reading this book. I can no longer criticize those who seek and get one.

Very Informative by Murphy E. Smith

5 Stars
October 22, 2009
This was a very informative book, which shows just how important looks are to not only to men but also women.

It's OK by Grace Defloreis (New York)

3 Stars
August 18, 2009
The problem with beauty is that it is subjective. There is not one "golden ratio" to anything, and if one wanted to, one could come up with infinite ratios and infinite formulas to try to define physical beauty. All these formulas would eventually lead to the same thing. Which is that nothing in beauty is definable. Beauty is an art, and not a science, yet Gordon Patzer will insist on trying to prove how scientific it is with lots of statistics, research studies that are not terribly unknown, and a majority of the data which I feel is influenced by people who want to match their evidence to their assumptions. People WANT to believe that looks will affect their life more than they actually do, so therefore, they WANT to find evidence to fit those facts. Any fact that supports an argument in some magical "universal" beauty that threatens to be of so much more utmost importance than any other thing in their life that they cannot control is downright scary to people. And due to that fear, they will then home-in to believe pretty much anything. Including a spot researcher who is not necessarily on the whole an expert himself. The the up-note, Patzer is thorough and conclusive, (in a basic way). In no doubt after reading his book it will be determined, once and for all, what looks do for you and how it will influence your life. A fairly readable copy, although not highly imaginative, I give kudos for bravery.

Authoritative overview by Allan Mazur (Syracuse University, NY)

5 Stars
June 09, 2009
As a researcher of how our looks affect our lives, I find this book the most up-to-date and authoritative overview of the voluminous body of studies that are scattered throughout the academic literature. It is nicely written for an easy and occasionally humorous read, easily accessible to a nonacademic audience. My one caveat is that Paltzer trusts the results of individual studies as if they are all replicable and generalizable, whereas I would take some of the reported findings, and their extensions to real life, with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, his broad conclusions are surely trustworthy.

Scary by Beth Bois

5 Stars
February 18, 2009
The title of this book pretty much says it all. Anyone with half a brain can see that we live in a superficial world where appearances matter, but I never imagined just how much. This book illustrates the way our appearances effect almost every aspect of our lives from the way our school teachers treat us, to who gets the big promotion at work, and which stories make headline news. It's fascinating, infuriating, and definitely worth reading.

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty by Nancy Etcoff (Author) In this provocative, witty, and thoroughly researched inquiry into what we find beautiful and why, Nancy Etcoff skewers one of our culture's most enduring myths, that the pursuit of beauty is a learned behavior. Etcoff, a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and a practicing psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, skewers the enduring myth that the pursuit of beauty is a learned behavior. Etcoff puts forth that beauty is neither a cultural construction, an invention of the...
	First Impressions: What You Don't Know About How Others See You by Ann Demarais Ph.D. (Author), Valerie White Ph.D. (Author) What kind of first impression do you make? A first impression is the most important impression you’ll ever make—and you get only one chance to make it. Business deals can be made or broken, first dates become second dates or not, friendships are created or fail to form; everything hinges on that all-important initial encounter. And yet most of us don’t know how we’re really seen by others. Many of us don’t know how to make a good impression. Wouldn’t you like others to see...
	Appearance is Everything by Steve Jeffes (Author) At last...a revealing book at how your appearance may determine your success and happiness in life. Jeffes helps readers to determine if they have been discriminated against because of their appearance. Appearance is Everything will enable you to critically examine how your appearance may influence relationships, academic performance, and career advancement.
	You've Only Got Three Seconds by Camille Lavington (Author), Stephanie Losee (Author) In the three seconds it takes you to walk through a door and extend your hand to someone for the first time, that person has already made irreversible judgments about you. You send out hundreds of signals about yourself, and people read those signals and react to them long before you've had a chance to say or do anything of substance. Camille Lavington is a communications consultant who commands substantial fees for teaching personal marketing to business people from corporate...
	The Power and Paradox of Physical Attractiveness by Gordon, L. Patzer (Author) The Power and Paradox of Physical Attractiveness is a scholarly look into physical attractiveness. It articulates the great importance placed on this dimension of a person’s appearance. Analysis of the dynamics and consequences reveals a powerful, pervasive, and frequently unrecognized or denied physical attractiveness phenomenon. This phenomenon transcends time, geography, and culture, regardless of demographics and socioeconomics of individuals and populations. With penetrating...