The authors in this volume confront the subject of how people imagine the insides of their own bodies. With all the recent technological advances, people can now view their own colons, hearts,
kidneys and even brains. Zwijnenberg (art history, Leiden University) and van de Vall (media culture, University of Maastricht) are concerned with changing ideas of interiority and perceptions
of self. The articles begin with Leonardo's famous sketch of a child in the womb coupled with other diagrams he made of the female body and organs. The discussion involves Leonardo's reaction
to the dissection and his mixed emotions concerning women and the mystery of reproduction. The next two essays also have an historical base. The first is on sixteenth century stories of people
who vomited up living animals and the concern that illnesses could be caused by internal creatures. The next is on the effects of the microscope on perceptions of the layers of the skin. The
following article makes the transition to contemporary times in a history of the attempts to map the brain. The articles are illustrated with examples of the ways in which our insides are
revealed. Annotation 穢2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
