The Scent of Desire: Discovering Our Enigmatic Sense of Smell - Tapa dura

"A delightfully unexpected blend of personal anecdotes, pop-cultural erudition and scientific understanding. "--Kirkus Reviews

"You'll never take your nose for granted again once you've read The Scent of Desire."--USA Today

"Fascinating . . . A serious book, with many whiffs of delight."--Washington Post Book World

"Charming. A reminder that life without aromas...would be sad indeed."--Curled Up with a Good Book

THE SCENT OF DESIRE was a finalist for the 2009 AAAS Excellence in Science Writing Award--The American Association for the Advancement of Science

"A great reference book that everyone should read. An excellent overview of the sense of smell. It kills some of the myths that have long been corrupting Perfumery and explains where the higher debates should really be. Thank you, Rachel Herz, for gathering these facts about olfaction in one place."--Christophe Laudamiel, Senior Perfumer, Fine Fragrances & Innovation

"This is a spicy perfume of a book, redolent with fascinating facts and provocative hypotheses."--Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor, Harvard University, author of The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, and The Stuff of Thought

"Intriguing...This illuminating book argues convincingly that the sense of smell should never be taken for granted."--Publishers Weekly

"Astounding and sometimes mind-boggling with (a) wonderfully charming voice and writing style."--Blogcritics.org

"Filled with intriguing bits of information."--Weekly Standard

A tour of the psychology, biology, and sociology of the olfactory sense explores the function of smell and how it is interconnected with human survival, drawing on extensive research and personal accounts to illuminate the sense's relevance in everyday life. 35,000 first printing.