Piercings, tattoos, corsets, and foot binding: All these beauty standards and more are touched on in this chronicle of the various ways people have altered their bodies throughout time. Arranged chronologically, these fads are captured in photographs, drawings, or reproductions of paintings, and they're succinctly contextualized with a bit of history. Each form of body modification is also paired with an eye-catching "to die for" subheading, which highlights potential health risks associated with some of the forms of body modifications, such as overheating from wearing too many layers in a corseted dress. At times more titillating than comprehensively useful, this book nevertheless avoids generalization and does well in highlighting the various ways in which contemporary culture still engages in everyday forms of body modification.