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Summary: Read it Years Ago and am Still Telling People about It
Review: I just want to recommend this book since I read it years ago and still pull out my copy to show people the section on Roman dinner parties, etc. It's not the type of book that 'you can't put down' once you start it. It's the type of book that contains so many great little nuggets that you have to digest it bit by bit . . . enjoy a little bit in each sitting.
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Summary: A perfect book for lazy, quiet afternoons
Review: I loved the experiences Diane Ackerman shares in this book. She seems to have the ability to dive wholeheartedly into one aspect of being, whether that is to enfold herself completely in the pleasures of a single scent or explore the mysteries of what it means to different individuals to hear a strain of music.My only complaint about the style of the book is how often Ackerman drifts into romantic prose that sounds lovely but is ultimately without substance. Examining the factual and historical nuances of the five senses is engaging enough; I felt that the long passionate passages were too much of a good thing. My recommendation would be to read this book during long stretches of quiet time alone, or while soaking in a scented bath. Either environment is ideal for this wonderful, poetic contemplation of human experience.
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Summary: This book changed my life...
Review: I read "A Natural History of the Senses" about ten years ago just a few months out of art school. I thought that I was fully engaged in the world and was aware of all that was around me. I soon learned that I was mistaken. I had been moving through the world virtually half-asleeep, just pushing my way through crowds and not really paying attention. I began opening myself fully to all experiences (through my senses) and I started to feel alive in a new way. I began a slow but steady transformation that has meant everything to me. Touch moved me most and eventually I went back to school and became a Massage Therapist. I am able, not only to experience my world in a new way; but I am also able to share something as comforting as massage with someone else. That is truly amazing!! Diane Ackerman's style is enlightening and poetic. A Natural History of the Senses is one of those books that you share with good friends and read over and over again. I still have my very first paperback copy (now autographed and a bit tattered) and it inspires me to be aware every day!
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Summary: This book changed my life...
Review: I read "A Natural History of the Senses" about ten years ago just a few months out of art school. I thought that I was fully engaged in the world and was aware of all that was around me. I soon learned that I was mistaken. I had been moving through the world virtually half-asleeep, just pushing my way through crowds and not really paying attention. I began opening myself fully to all experiences (through my senses) and I started to feel alive in a new way. I began a slow but steady transformation that has meant everything to me. Touch moved me most and eventually I went back to school and became a Massage Therapist. I am able, not only to experience my world in a new way; but I am also able to share something as comforting as massage with someone else. That is truly amazing!! Diane Ackerman's style is enlightening and poetic. A Natural History of the Senses is one of those books that you share with good friends and read over and over again. I still have my very first paperback copy (now autographed and a bit tattered) and it inspires me to be aware every day!
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Summary: This book opens the world to you in a new way-the ONLY way!
Review: I was truly awakened by this book. My life was changed (I mean that literally). I began to see, hear, touch, smell and taste everything around me with new intensities. I felt, truly FELT reborn into the world again. This is a book for those wanting to be ALIVE!!
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Summary: This book is a "must have" for word & nature lovers!
Review: I've lost count of how many copies of this book I've given away -- at least ten. Ms. Ackerman has the most amazing way of describing the undescribable. She captures all of the senses beautifully; for example you can almost smell the inside of the perfumer's laboratory. She is the perfect blend of poet and naturalist. I have most of her books, and I love all of them. Buy this one -- you'll view the world in a whole new way!
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Summary: Utter Pap- Doesn't deserve ANY stars
Review: Icky! The last sentence of every paragraph is meant to be overtly thought provoking. How much better the book would be if Diane spent more time making the whole chapter good rather than just the last sentence. I was able to flip through the book at random and read the last sentences to my husband to illustrate how desperately deep this woman tries to be and he said that with just the few sentences I pulled, there is no way he could sit through a whole book filled with such pap. I was introduced to this book after telling someone about "Botany of Desire" and they felt that "A Natural History of the Senses" would be something I would enjoy. It is not a history of history or the senses, or nature. It took three tries for me to get past the first PAGE and agony to get through the entire book. Utter Torture. Utter Pap. I love books of all sorts, but this was a waste of time, ink, printing presses and effort.
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Summary: Interesting and beautifully written
Review: It is no surprise that author Diane Ackerman has also written several books of poetry. Her poet's sensibility is certainly put to good use here. She uses beautiful, evocative prose to consummate what is clearly a long-standing love affair with the five senses. Although this book is well-reasoned and researched, including much fascinating information about how the senses operate, this is not really a rigorously scientific book. Rather, it is a collection of essays that often have little apparent connection to each other apart from the particular sense under discussion. One moment we might be reading about the latest (at the time of publication) scientific findings about our sense of smell; on the next page we may encounter profiles of people who work as professional smellers for the perfume industry; from there we might move to Ackerman's own garden or a memory of time spent in a eucalyptus grove. The result is an interesting, highly idiosyncratic journey through our senses and what they mean to us.
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Summary: Reading this book will make you feel more alive!
Review: Other reviews have done a great job of describing what the book is about - what it 'means'. But the most important thing it what it does. It touchs the mind, the senses, the heart, the spirit and ultimately makes you remember what it feels like to be alive. And it may also give you some marketable ideas. What about scented candles that smell like fresh baked bread, musty attics, fresh mowed lawns or the sea shore. If it can be done, I'll just be there would be a audience for it. I've given the book to many friends in the past and will continue to do so as I make new ones.
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Summary: A WONDERFUL BOOK!
Review: Read it, and You'll feel that you're not just reading.-- A truly wonderful book.
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