Rating: 
Summary: A box of chocolates rather than a steak dinner
Review: Readers expecting a meaty discussion of the science and history of the senses won't find it here. The book reminded me of a box of good chocolates: it's fun, full of variety and surprises, and a pleasant diversion, if not very substantial. I found it perfect for traveling: the chapters are brief and fairly self-contained, and you can read the book in bits and pieces and still find it enjoyable. In the category of "brain candy," this is definitely Belgian chocolate.
Rating: 
Summary: Stimulate your senses
Review: Sometimes one comes across a writer, who, no matter what he/she writes about, we become enthralled. Ackerman is one of those for me. I don't usually read books of this genre, but did this time, to observe a writer's attempt at describing the 'sensual' outside the realm of novels. She most certainly mastered the art of description, so the reader clearly feels the experience. I recommend this book for this and her generally engaging style.Full of interesting trivia on the five senses, including why we enjoy sensory experiences, how they operate and evolved. Approached with great insight, research and wit, Ackerman puts together a collection of intriguing examples to understand the world of stimulis abounding around us.
Rating: 
Summary: Crap.
Review: Tedious, cutesy and dull. Cloying and annoyingly precious. No point whatsoever. I read it and gave it away.
Rating:
Summary: Very interesting book about the mystery of senses
Review: Thanks to my friends who have suggested this book. Adds to my knowledge and ideas about the mystery of senses. Just njoy reading the book with your own analysis while the author narrates a picturesque story of the primary senses and their functions !!
Rating:
Summary: from UofLIFE.com/book review
Review: The best writing I have ever read. Totally engaging essays that will not only teach you more than you ever thought there was to know about our five senses (and more!) but will also make you laugh out loud because the writing is that good. Your world will never be the same again--or should I say, you will never see your world the same way. You will forever be more aware of the stunning intricacy, simplicity, and beauty of life that surrounds us.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't be misled...
Review: This book is anything but a Natural History of the senses. Ackerman takes a few scientific facts about the senses and fluffs them up with rambling prose about her own experiences.
The more science-oriented passages were superficial and extremely brief, and I found the prose to be monotonous and dry. Other reviewers' description of her prose as "cloying" is very appropriate. Her use of imagery and metaphors is at times creative, yet overwhelming, and she offers very little substance to balance it. I can only begin to imagine the thrills of hearing about the luscious and sensual natural history of her garden. Too bad I won't be getting around to reading that one... I give the book two stars instead of one for the interesting factoids she inserts here and there, irrelevant though they may be to the surrounding text. Overall, not recommended.
Rating:
Summary: One of my top 5 ever
Review: This book is perhaps the best balance of beautiful language and concrete science that I have ever read. It evokes comparison to the way Sagan captures the mysteries of space and science in his body of work. Give this book to someone you respect, and they will respect you for it.
Rating:
Summary: An wonderful insightful book
Review: This book was so good. There were a million things I learned while reading this book. It is so insightful and really opens you up to the world around you. I highly recommend this book to the scientist as well as the poet... it is wonderful!
Rating:
Summary: Sense and Sensibility
Review: This is an entirely personal response, but this is one of the most important books I've read. For anyone who tries to live actively through their senses, experiencing the world around them and incorporating a sense memory, this book will satisfy powerful, intuitive feelings. It has just enough science to explain and fascinate, the rest is clear, resonant stories of sensual experience. There is a lucid, sincere and powerful feeling of sheer joy about that book, the joy Ackerman finds in her own experience and her pleasure and sharing, but the book never tips into the sentimental.
Rating:
Summary: Just Beautiful
Review: This is my favorite nonfiction book, bar none. It is written like a novel and yet, manages to be chock full of textbook-worthy information. The chapter on smell is simply incredible. I have loaned out countless copies of this book, never received one of them back, and just keep buying more. Please just buy yourself a copy so I can hang on to mine.
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