This book tells why the kiss is one of the most powerful and evocative gestures in Western culture. Adrianne Blue argues convincingly that there is a kiss continuum, a loop of meaning which informs every kiss, whether of friendship, ritual or love. In the process she reveals a breathtaking landscape which includes the peaks and valleys of the maternal, the placatory, the spiritual, the metaphorical and the erotic. The love scenes of Garbo, the yearning of Proust, the sarcasm of Amis, the sensuality of Colette are put into fascinating perspective in a book which maps scientific, artistic and emotional terrain.