Examines "how the interface between our sense of touch and our emotional responses affects our social interactions as well as our general health and development ... [exploring] scientific advances in the understanding of touch that help explain our sense of self and our experience of the world. From skin to nerves to brain, the organization of the body's touch circuits powerfully influences our lives--affecting everything from consumer choice to sexual intercourse, tool use to the origins of language, chronic pain to healing"--