Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, a leading scholar of disability studies, examines the human stare as a social encounter laden with meaning, power, and potential transformation. Drawing on art, media, fashion, disability culture, and personal experience, she analyzes why we stare, what our stares communicate, and how those being stared at experience and respond to intense visual attention. Garland-Thomson identifies staring as a particularly charged form of looking that differs from the casual glance, a prolonged, intense engagement triggered by the presence of something unexpected or extraordinary. She explores the stare's targets, especially people with visible disabilities or unusual bodies, examining how being stared at can produce shame, defiance, or opportunity for connection. The book analyzes how staring functions in art and media, from freak shows to photography to contemporary disability performance. Garland-Thomson proposes a new ethics of staring that moves from shame and avoidance toward what she calls baroque staring, engaged looking that acknowledges wonder while respecting the humanity of the person seen. The book challenges readers to examine their own looking practices and consider how visual encounters might become occasions for recognition rather than objectification.