Shape Makes the Man?

You can find yourself, your family, your friends, and your co-workers in this book.

Some scientists have long maintained that the way you feel, the way you act, and your attitude toward other people may well be influenced by the shape of your body.

Now, Jan Gosnell has lifted established scientific theory off of dusty textbook pages with funny and often outrageous drawings that illustrate the possible effects of your external physique on your internal needs, your personality, and your behavior. The habits, fears, foibles, and pleasures of everyday life are depicted in perceptive and ludicrous extreme, according to the body contours of the people most likely to possess specific traits-- those generally considered by society to be both good and bad.

Do you tend to be somewhat oval in contour, and perhaps broad of hip? If so, you'll meet your counterparts romping amiably through the pages of Gosnell's book with a high degree of sociability. They are tolerant, complacent, and relaxed, with a love of physical comforts, affection, conviviality, and fine foods (which undoubtedly have contributed to the rotund configuration).

If you are the broad-shouldered type, a muscularly sturdy speciman with a basically triangular shape, you will encounter compatriots in the Gosnell characters who are assertive, adventurous, energetic, physically courageous, bold, petitive. Their daring frequently involves them in some interesting, if not always secure situations.

If you are inclined to be thin and angular, long-limbed and light-weight, chances are that you will discover yourself in Gosnell's cartoons of the sensitive, intense, private individuals of active temperament, who are restrained, resistant to routine, and mentally self-sufficient. Sudden changes in their thought patterns and outlooks can cause them to be considered capricious, and thus to be misunderstood.

Jan Gosnell is a commercial artist and award-winning editorial cartoonist who lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas. A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, he received a traditional art education at both the undergraduate and graduate university levels, and has acquired a wide background of experience in a variety of graphic techniques. Gosnell became interested in what he terms the rich, visual potential inherent in scientific studies that have classified human bodies and the characteristics of each.