The astonishing history of palmistry and biometrics –
from occult physicians to the very foundations of modern science and medicine.
University of Chicago Press
November 2025
Ingenious and fascinating, this is history at its best.
– Janet Browne, Harvard University
Compelling.
– Simon Schaffer, University of Cambridge
An unexpected joy.
– David Stack, University of Reading
Upcoming events
Sat 21 Mar 6pm
Soldiers’ Memorial Hall,
Bundanoon
In conversation with Richard Fidler
Alison Bashford
Alison Bashford’s books combine the history of science and medicine, the history of ideas, and global history, across scales both grand and intimate. How did our strange, wondrous, and dangerous twenty-first century come to be?
