Things that I liked about this book: the way each person writes up their own tattoo story, the diversity in age, race, and gender of subjects, the different handwriting styles, the pictures.

Things I could have done without: The constant condescension toward people getting tattoos that popped up in each tattoo artist’s interview as well as the foreword. We get it. You’ve been into tattoos and tattooing since you could walk. That’s awesome. But people who just decided to get a tattoo because their friend did and they think it’s cool? They’re not stupid. And you don’t need to talk down to your readers who maybe don’t have tattoos. It’s cool that they’re all so passionate about their work and their ink, but the incessant tone of superiority really grates.
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This is, essentially, a book about people with tattoos.

It's not about the tattoos themselves, although they are pictured, but more about the stories and lives of the person with said tattoos.

Each opening has a brief note or story on one page and a photo of the person/persons tattoos on the other. Interspersed are interviews with various related parties such as Evan Seinfeld, Oliver Peck, Kat Von D.

I found the stories behind the older folks tattoos the most interesting, but some of the other folks certainly are too.

In closing, if you are wanting to purchase a book to get tattoo ideas, this is not the book for you. ( )

Kip Fulbeck is a professor of art at the University of California, and judging by the jacket photo, has a number of elaborate tattoos. In Permanence, he investigates the personal narratives behind a number of tattoos ranging from the simple to the incredibly elaborate. His photographs accompany a handwritten description from each person photographed. Some of those posing are famous: Slash (Guns N Roses), Comedian Margaret Cho, Paul Stanley (Kiss) and others. The non-famous include holocaust survivors, marine veterans, and a few full-body tatted individuals.

Perhaps most interesting to me-- someone who will never get a tattoo-- is to read the thoughts of those who have tattoos regarding the way they are perceived by those who don't have a tattoo, and how that has changed over the past few decades. Some of the photographs, and to a lesser extent a few of the handwritten notes, are a bit revealing or shocking for a high school audience (I ordered this for a high school library without the option to preview first). One fully tattooed man advises trying LSD and dropping out of school; some of the tattoo photos will undoubtedly raise a few conservative eyebrows. But that's sort of the point. Most who would raise their eyebrows at this likely wouldn't be getting a tattoo in the first place; those with many tattoos would likely find most of the tattoos basic and undaring. The book is an exploration of the WHY by an educated scholar doing academic research: why permanently ink something into your flesh?
There are no photos of private parts-- those are all covered in one way or another. The book will certainly appeal to a specific but growing audience; even someone like myself who can't understand why anyone would ever tattoo themselves can appreciate much of the art presented here. The poignant stories of Holocaust survivors and the young Japanese American who tattooed his father's internment camp number when he was in the concentration camps in America make the book worth reading on its own. ( )