Are things ugly or are they just not beautiful? The answer to this and other questions can be found in this encyclopedia. Drawing from experts in the areas of philosophy, art, history, psychology, feminist theory, legal theory, and many more, the encyclopedia presents 600 signed essays alphabetically arranged. Most entries include a headnote clarifying the topic. Entries range from the philosophical essay on ugliness, to the more reality-based article...

Kelleher has spent much of her life chasing beauty. She can to see that whenever you find something unbearably beautiful, if you look closer, you'll inevitably find a shadow of decay lurking beneath. Here she blends science, history, and memoir to uncover the dark underbellies of our favorite goods. -- adapted from jacket

"After a mortifying rejection, Sahoko Wakaume has sworn off beautiful boys. But a chance meeting puts her in the sights of gorgeous J-pop star Kouta Kirigaya of the group Like Legend. Sahoko will need all her cynicism to defend herself against Kouta's tenderhearted and affectionate attacks to win her heart! Introverted high schooler Sahoko gathers her courage and confesses her love to the nation's top idol, Kouta Kirigaya! But he tells her he won't...

"Sahoko is officially dating Japan's top idol! Now that her bias is her boyfriend, Sahoko sets about bettering herself for Kouta, but things quickly get complicated when a celebrity rival appears!"--

Strings weaves together a historical narrative ranging from the Renaissance to the current moment, analyzing important works of art, newspaper and magazine articles, and scientific literature and medical journals--where fat bodies were once praised--showing that fat phobia, as it relates to black women, did not originate with medical findings, but with the Enlightenment era belief that fatness was evidence of "savagery" and racial inferiority. The...