Forensic Sci Med Pathol (2008) 4:200
DOI 10.1007/s12024-008-9031-2
B O O K RE V I E W
Robert M. George, Facial Geometry: Graphic Facial Analysis
for Forensic Artists
Charles C. Thomas Publishers Ltd., USA, 2007, 96 pp, US $24.95,
ISBN 978-0-398-07770-9
Marcel A. VerhoV
Published online: 20 September 2008
Humana Press 2008
This book is primarily aimed at forensic artists. An impor-
tant task of the forensic artist is the reconstruction of the
faces of unidentiWed corpses or, respectively, of skulls, in a
sketch. Cephalometry, the exact analysis and measurement
of the skull with relation to speciWc reference points,
precedes every facial reconstruction.
The central subject of this book is the measurement of
facial variations and of their eVect on forensic analysis and
on the production of a realistic sketch of the face. A face
exhibits reference points, which correlate to those found on
the skull and can be used for analysis and reconstruction.
These reference points were Wrst deWned by Martin in 1914.
It is regrettable that neither Rudolf Martins book Lehrbuch
der Anthropologie (Fischer 1914) nor any other important
German language texts have been cited.
At Wrst glance the sketches remind one of Proportions of
the Aesthetic Face (Thieme-Stratton 1984) by Powell and
Humphreys, which is listed in the reference. The main
emphasis is, however, on very instructive, schematic line
drawings.
All the important reference points, lines, and planes are
illustrated in easy-to-understand sketches in the Wrst part of
M. A. VerhoV (&)
Institute of Legal Medicine, Giessen, Germany
e-mail: marcel.A.verhoV@forens.med.uni-giessen.de
the book. The second part explains how the proportions of
the human face can be reproduced with the help of these
parameters.
The third and fourth sections of the book discuss the use of
numerous indices in the analysis of faces. These indices are
computed on the basis of diVerent measurements. For numer-
ous indices, the distributions in the average population are
listed. These distributions were mainly taken from the quoted
literature, but some are apparently based on the authors own
investigations. Since the presented indices are obtained by
dividing one deWned measurement through another, they can
also be correctly calculated from photographs of varying
scale and from unknown absolute values for these measure-
ments. Accordingly, they would also be suitable for facial
analysis in photo identiWcation. However, to this end, the
faces on the crime scene photos would have to be in a deWned
plane, which is, in practice, hardly ever the case.
On the whole, this book is a good introduction to anthro-
pological facial analysis for people with a background of
hands-on art experience. For those readers with a sound
anthropological education, primary interest will probably
be in the compiled distribution frequencies.