In the tradition of Diane Ackerman's A Natural History of the Senses and Oliver Sacks's The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, this witty and elegantly written book offers fascinating new insights about our skin--and ourselves. Leading dermatologists Arthur Balin and Loretta Pratt Balin take us on a wonderful ride beneath our most visible, revealing, and overlooked organ: the skin.  The authors highlight the skin's functions in sensory perception and the immune system.  They detail the amazing ability of the skin to communicate everything from sexual signals to the presence of dysfunctions and problems within the body.  They explain why babies smell nice, why we get wrinkles, and how wounds heal.  And they tell fascinating and moving stories from their patients' lives and their own--from the schoolteacher whose skin turned into a stiff shell, to the facelift Arthur performed on his own father. With the Balins' passion for their subject and care for their patients bringing life to every page, this unique book will change the way you look at yourself forever. "By skillfully interweaving patients' stories with scientific explanations, the Balins illuminate the workings         of the body's largest sensory organ and also provide a marvelous glimpse of doctors at work." --The Washington Post "Fascinating clinical tales...Entertaining and instructive." --Kirkus Reviews "An inspiring way to learn about the skin." --The Dallas Morning News "By skillfully interweaving patients' stories with scientific explanations, the Balins illuminate the workings of the body's largest sensory organ and also provide a marvelous glimpse of doctors at work." --The Washington Post "Fascinating clinical tales...Entertaining and instructive." --Kirkus Reviews "An inspiring way to learn about the skin." --The Dallas Morning News tion of Diane Ackerman's A Natural History of the Senses and Oliver Sacks's The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, this witty and elegantly written book offers fascinating new insights about our skin--and ourselves. Leading dermatologists Arthur Balin and Loretta Pratt Balin take us on a wonderful ride beneath our most visible, revealing, and overlooked organ: the skin. The authors highlight the skin's functions in sensory perception and the immune system. They detail the amazing ability of the skin to communicate everything from sexual signals to the presence of dysfunctions and problems within the body. They explain why babies smell nice, why we get wrinkles, and how wounds heal. And they tell fascinating and moving stories from their patients' lives and their own--from the schoolteacher whose skin turned into a stiff shell, to the facelift Arthur performed on his own father. With the Balins' passion for Naked to the Light It was the end of the day on a hot August afternoon. Loretta was already at home with our baby daughter, Allison. I had one more patient to see, but I was hopeful I would be able to dine with my wife and get to bed before midnight for the first time in many busy weeks. One of the nurses put her head in the door. "Mrs. Sloan is waiting for you in room one, Dr. Balin." Mrs. Sloan was a new patient. Glancing at the form she had filled out in the waiting room, I saw that she was fifty-five years old and the wife of a well-known orthopedic surgeon in the area. My first impression of the patient who awaited me was that she looked at least ten or fifteen years younger than the age stated in her chart. In startling contrast to the many sun-damaged faces confronting me every day, here was the luminous milk-white complexion that hadn't been fashionable in over half a century. Clearly, this was a woman who understood how to care for her skin and had the self-assurance that allowed her to defy the still strongly felt preference for a summer tan. There would be no need to discuss with Mrs. Sloan the life-threatening danger of sunlight. My dinner with Loretta seemed almost assured. I would carefully survey Mrs. Sloan, answer any questions she might have about caring for her skin, and be on my way. "How do you do, Dr. Balin," she said, rising from her chair. "I'm glad to meet you." As Mrs. Sloan extended her hand to shake mine, the sleeve of her dress slid back, and I was surprised to see a very large, very dark mole a few inches above her wrist. My heart sank. Although I couldn't be certain, of course, until I sent it out to be biopsied, it had all the outward features of a malignant melanoma, one of the most virulent and least treatable of all cancers. No matter how many times we see melanomas and other serious skin diseases, no professional armor lessens the sadness we feel upon meeting a patient bearing one of these potentially deadly emblems. Dermatology is the most visual of all medical specialties. Where other physicians may need invasive instruments and esoteric imaging techniques to enter deep within their patients' bodies and listen to or see organs invisible to