About Faces

Based on a popular exhibit of the same name currently traveling the Ameri can science museum circuit, About Faces is an entertaining study--ana tomical and anthropological--of the human visage. It's also full of the sort of ``Did you know?'' informational tid bits that will stand readers in good stead at cocktail parties. To wit: the Mongolian Kirghiz tribe believes itself to be the epitome of beauty because tribal bone structure closely resem bles that of a horse; the Trobrianders, a Pacific tribe, bite off the eyelashes of their partners during lovemaking; crying diverts blood flow to the brain, thus producing a kind of anesthesia for the disconsolate; the basic facial movements of flirting, as well as rais ing the eyebrows in common greeting, are universal to the human species. Numerous accompanying diagrams and photos (which include the obliga tory view of Michael Jackson before and after plastic surgery) are equally provocative. Landau is an educator and an Emmy Award-winning TV writer/producer/director. Photos not seen by PW. (Apr.)