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A Natural History of the Senses
Diane Ackerman's lusciously written grand tour of the realm of the senses includes conversations with an iceberg in Antarctica and a professional nose in New York, along with dissertations on kisses and tattoos, sadistic cuisine and the music played by the planet Earth. "Delightful . . . gives the reader the richest possible feeling of the worlds the senses take in."--The ...more
Quality Trade Paperback, 331 pages
Published
September 10th 1991
by Vintage
(first published 1990)
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Over a decade ago I picked up a book that changed my life. It was Diane Ackerman's "A Natural History of the Senses", and her humanist, holistic, sensitive approach to that most basic of subjects; how we sense the world, was a revelation. Her writing was inclusive and funny, at once deep and yet accessible. She loved to explore complex issues like the olfactory system, or the sounding of whales, and to take the reader along on that exploration. Science was no longer dry and I was n...more
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Well, the title is quite misleading. Each chapter (Smell, Touch, Taste, Hearing, Vision, and Synesthesia) seems to be a loose assemblage of thoughts, often only tenuously tied to the sense supposedly being discussed. For example, I'm still trying to figure out why she wrote about quicksand in the hearing chapter. In the Synesthesia chapter, she starts a section by talking about some writers who had synesthesia, but then it devolves into pages and pages of quirks writers had (who liked to write s...more
The more I read of this book, the more I wanted it to be over. I enjoyed the small tidbits of information and etymology facts dispersed far and too few between her grandiose anecdotes but I really couldn't get over how proud of herself Ackerman seems to be. It was just exhausting hearing about all the wonderful sensory experiences she's had. I get it. I've had my own, even if they weren't while exploring Antarctica or vacationing in the exotic middle-east as a college student. Uhg.
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This book was really hard to get through. The only reason I even finished it is that she did include a few really interesting facts about the senses. But her writing style is torturous!!!!! She writes in this really flowery style with way too many metaphors and adjectives that don't even make sense! Here's one: "Craving the dialect of cities, I forgot the way deer steal into the yard with their big hearts and fragile dreams". What??? There's no context for this and it doesn't mak...more
I was given this book as a high school graduation present from two retired high school teachers and it proved to be one of my all time favorites. It should be required reading for any human being. You will learn fascinating things like that we can identify only 10,000 different tastes and anything else you've ever wanted to know about your senses. It's fascinating and mind blowing.
At once history, biology, and anthropology this book explores the 5 senses from a variety of perspectives. Ackerman writes with intense imagery that can be beautiful or brutal. Memorable indeed was a discussion of the cultural evolution of flavor, complete with a medieval recipe for cooking a LIVE goose. I loved her discussion of how smell is the sense most closely linked to memory (which explains why sometimes, washing my hands in public bathrooms, I get instantly transported back to kinderg...more
this one had me going for a while, but i got exhausted with ackerman's far-reaching metaphors and frequent digressions. they always say digression in nonfiction is good, it allows the reader to make a deeper connection; it was intriguing at the beginning of this book but i reached the penultimate chapter, on vision, and she's hardly expounding on vision at all--just describing one fantastic sight after another, and that only does half the job in achieving her goal of exploring the senses. so, on...more
Although all te essays were interesting on their own, sometimes they extended the theme a little farther than what I wanted to read. I really wanted to focus on the senses and to read a more scientific perspective. The essays therein were more fluid than that.
I've read other Ackerman books and have enjoyed them thoroughly. I think it is best, however, to approach Ackerman with no agenda. At times, I would get a little frustrated with some of the essays; "what does sky have to do...more
I've read other Ackerman books and have enjoyed them thoroughly. I think it is best, however, to approach Ackerman with no agenda. At times, I would get a little frustrated with some of the essays; "what does sky have to do...more
Valerie
added it
I really couldn't make my way through this. I may have another go some day, but it's one of the things I keep putting off.
For one thing, I've never really accepted the canonical notion of 'five senses'. I kept waiting for discussion of the other senses. Where are the discussions of (for example) the barometric sense?
For that matter, what about people with sensitivity outside the norm in the 'standard' five senses? Whenever I see people on news shows saying they can't ...more
For one thing, I've never really accepted the canonical notion of 'five senses'. I kept waiting for discussion of the other senses. Where are the discussions of (for example) the barometric sense?
For that matter, what about people with sensitivity outside the norm in the 'standard' five senses? Whenever I see people on news shows saying they can't ...more
I guess it helps if you have a crush on the author of the book you are reading. What can I say? It happens. But smitten or not, this was a delight.
The first two books I reported on by poet turned naturalist Diane Ackerman chronicled her adventures in pursuit of rare and wonderful wildlife: bats, whales, penguins, etc.
In “A Natural History of the Senses” she turned inward, exploring we humans and the way we experience our world.
“We tend to see distant past th...more
The first two books I reported on by poet turned naturalist Diane Ackerman chronicled her adventures in pursuit of rare and wonderful wildlife: bats, whales, penguins, etc.
In “A Natural History of the Senses” she turned inward, exploring we humans and the way we experience our world.
“We tend to see distant past th...more
This lovely book is my favorite non-fiction book I've ever read--it's full of stories about famous and historically important people's reactions to various smells, sights, things they've heard, felt and tasted. I love the section about Napoleon and Josephine and how at one point he asks her not to bathe until he sees her again so he could breathe in her au naturel odor which apparently drove him crazy! That's passion, baby! I've read this book several times which is not something I'm usually in ...more
I learned:
A piece of fugu (puffer fish) toxin, small enough to fit under a fingernail, is enough to kill someone mid-meal. The real fugu expert chef can leave just enough toxin in a soup for your lips to tingle but not to kill.
I found some of the scientific explanations rather booooring. Then when she tried to be poetic or metaphorical, sometimes it would work and at other times, it seemed melodramatic, insincere, or ridiculous. Also the topics and scenarios just seemed to fli...more
A piece of fugu (puffer fish) toxin, small enough to fit under a fingernail, is enough to kill someone mid-meal. The real fugu expert chef can leave just enough toxin in a soup for your lips to tingle but not to kill.
I found some of the scientific explanations rather booooring. Then when she tried to be poetic or metaphorical, sometimes it would work and at other times, it seemed melodramatic, insincere, or ridiculous. Also the topics and scenarios just seemed to fli...more
Elizabeth
added it
I remember her passages on smells and taste, Very evocative. Another one to jump into where the book falls open, not one i consumed from front to back. I enjoyed it tremendously and it awakened my perceptions for awhile, but lost interest in the middle of the Hearing section. My copy is well worn and appears to be soaked with water, oddly enough becoming a sensual document itself. Great reminder here. Maybe I'll pick it up again.
I enjoyed this book although the authors facts aren't always correct. For example she talks about the Hopi god, "Mais" and there aren't Hopi gods, let alone one named Mais.
That being said, there are many interesting and surprising facts in thus book that I never would have known. One of the more amazing ones is that both Faulkner and Joyce were synesthetes, meaning they could see letters and sounds represented as colors when spoken. A number of other writers, composers a...more
That being said, there are many interesting and surprising facts in thus book that I never would have known. One of the more amazing ones is that both Faulkner and Joyce were synesthetes, meaning they could see letters and sounds represented as colors when spoken. A number of other writers, composers a...more
Oops: I just left it in the airplane with a few pages left. Oh well.
My indifference to my loss says something. Ackerman's systematic attack of the senses is interesting and fact-filled, but ultimately not cohesive or exciting enough to keep me engaged.
She does a wonderful job of scattering random tidbits of history, scientific fact, literature references, language idioms, and famous quotations into a flood of the different ways we use our senses to perceive. Though some ...more
My indifference to my loss says something. Ackerman's systematic attack of the senses is interesting and fact-filled, but ultimately not cohesive or exciting enough to keep me engaged.
She does a wonderful job of scattering random tidbits of history, scientific fact, literature references, language idioms, and famous quotations into a flood of the different ways we use our senses to perceive. Though some ...more
Here's what Barbara Kingsolver has to say about Diane Ackerman: "[She:] begins each summer day 'by choosing and arranging flowers for a Zenlike hour or so.' She listens to music obsessively, then speed-walks for an hour, every single day. 'I don't know whether this helps or not,' she allows... 'My muse is male, has the radiant, silvery complexion of the moon, and never speaks to me directly.'"
Please read that last line again. A lot of this book sounds like that, although...more
Please read that last line again. A lot of this book sounds like that, although...more
...Eh.
I enjoyed the general idea of A Brief History of the Senses - taking it for what it is, which is a fairly light depiction of the importance of each of our five senses in our evolution, culture, and everyday survival - and Ackerman's luscious descriptions of such sense-stirring events as watching sunsets, sniffing roses, and eating chocolate. I was distracted, though, by the book's repetitiveness, and I found the author's tone to be unnecessarily smug: She continuously links he...more
I enjoyed the general idea of A Brief History of the Senses - taking it for what it is, which is a fairly light depiction of the importance of each of our five senses in our evolution, culture, and everyday survival - and Ackerman's luscious descriptions of such sense-stirring events as watching sunsets, sniffing roses, and eating chocolate. I was distracted, though, by the book's repetitiveness, and I found the author's tone to be unnecessarily smug: She continuously links he...more
A unique overview of how one reacts to the world. I don’t usually mark-up my books (not since school anyway) but years ago when I read this, I was compelled to underline sentences and passages throughout. I spent this evening browsing through the chapters and rediscovering the many revelations. Did you know that Balzac drank over fifty cups of coffee a day, and died from caffeine poisoning? Or, that not only are cows considered sacred in India, but also the dust in their footprints? Or, Helen Ke...more
Susan
added it
As I prepare for a Nia retreat (called Come to Your Senses) in April, I am rereading Diane Ackerman's amazing book. In my life I have read hundreds of books and I can count the ones I've read twice on one hand. This will be the third time I've read this and it is just as delicious as I remember.
From the introduction:
"To begin to understand the gorgeous fever that is consciousness, we must try to understand the senses -- how they evolved, how they can be extended, what the...more
From the introduction:
"To begin to understand the gorgeous fever that is consciousness, we must try to understand the senses -- how they evolved, how they can be extended, what the...more
A cross-discipline examination of how we experience the world, and the role each of the senses plays in our concept of existence. Though at first somewhat too unstructured for my taste, I relaxed into going with her flow and enjoyed many of the tidbits she presented, especially her etymological factoids regarding common words. Unfortunately it continually reminded me of my upcoming colorectal surgery, wondering about the future limitations to my enjoyment of the world in terms of endurance and m...more
BHodges
added it
Ackerman is a true sensuist. Her poetic prose is only part of the reason this book ought to be read. She explores smell, touch, taste, hearing, and vision, and briefly extends the discussion into our other unlabeled senses. Seriously a beautiful book, I highly recommend it. It increased my own awareness of my senses.
"To begin to understand the gorgeous fever that is consciousness, we must try to understand the senses--how they evolved, how they can be extended, what their limits are, to wh...more
"To begin to understand the gorgeous fever that is consciousness, we must try to understand the senses--how they evolved, how they can be extended, what their limits are, to wh...more
Fascinating and wide ranging. I love these rambling, train-of-thought explorations of topics, so this book literally* reached out and grabbed me by the wrist when I came accross it in a used book store attached to a reclaimed building materials store in Charlotte, NC.
Diane Ackerman runs through the senses one by one, from smell to vision, with illuminations from science, myth, literature and more. Both the world we percieve with our senses and the workings of those senses are under...more
Diane Ackerman runs through the senses one by one, from smell to vision, with illuminations from science, myth, literature and more. Both the world we percieve with our senses and the workings of those senses are under...more
I learned a lot by reading this book and though a lot of it was technical science regarding the five senses, a lot also was cultural and sociological. Plus the author has a poetic touch that makes the prose a joy to read. This is the type of "science" book that should be required reading for teenagers. Grab the interest of the reader, make the anecdotes to support the science interesting and challenge the knowledge gained. I'd love to read this again sometime just for some of the speci...more
hey! i finally finished this book! this was a pretty good book, something that i read in short bursts over a pretty long amount of time. i do take some issue with the title, i think it should be "my personal history of the senses."
this lady writes really beautifully most of the time about things that most people have a real hard time describing. so i liked that. i will definitely try to remember some of the word concoctions shes used and use them for myself when i am t...more
this lady writes really beautifully most of the time about things that most people have a real hard time describing. so i liked that. i will definitely try to remember some of the word concoctions shes used and use them for myself when i am t...more
A radically uneven book, with passages of lyrical beauty punctuated by an increasing sense of disorganization. It too often reads more like a glorified diary entry than an actual book, changing topics mid paragraph, digressing for two or three sentences and then snapping back to the topic at hand. And far too much of the narrative of each section focusses on anecdote and broad generalizations, with too many historically inaccurate statements (no, blue is not a colour historically associated with...more
Ackerman writes a number of books that accomplish the feat of quality, entertaining writing about science without making it seem like science. Which, I suppose, is simply saying that she brings science to the pleasure readers.
She has a poet’s ear for sentences, and she writes like a teacher. Her descriptions are beautiful and interesting, and she read several hundred books for every one title she writes. There is so very much information packed in that great language. Science ver...more
She has a poet’s ear for sentences, and she writes like a teacher. Her descriptions are beautiful and interesting, and she read several hundred books for every one title she writes. There is so very much information packed in that great language. Science ver...more
Forgot I had read this. I clearly remember the chapter on our sense of smell - how it affects people to lose their sense of smell (and therefore a good bit of their sense of taste), or, inversely, to have a heightened sense of smell (maybe an even worse circumstance, all told). I knew a woman at the time, who had been kicked by a horse and had lost her sense of smell. She liked burnt apple turnovers, and would request them at the local bakery - she could taste "burnt" and not much else...more
I have tried to read this book three times over the past 10 years. While the author has obviously gathered lots of tidbits of information, quotes from experts, and interesting life experiences, the final product is a book that I cannot slog through. She jumps all over the place and writes seemingly endless lists of examples. She does a great job when she's simply telling her stories. Definitely not a cohesive novel that you could draw any sort of conclusion from. It's too bad, because the su...more
Noel
rated it
Recommends it for:
everyone and anyone
Recommended to Noel by:
This is one I picked up at a bookstore and chose a random page.
Shelves:
spirituality
Amazingly well-written natural history of the human senses: smell, sight, hearing, taste and touch are all covered in great detail. Lovely, sensual, with some wonderful anecdotes, great history and science, and a delightfully engaging style. Reading this book is like dipping into a candy jar: you can open it at any page and start reading (oops did I just make myself sound like Forrest Gump?). This is my second time reading this book cover to cover and it's on my "for keeps" bookshelf a...more
This book is my bible. I've read it a number of times and plan to read it again, and again, and again.
Ackerman sums up her intention for this book wonderfully in her introduction--
"To begin to understand the gorgeous fever that is consciousness, we must try to understand the senses--how they evolved, how they can be extended, what their limits are, to which one we have attached taboos, and what they can teach us about the ravishing world we have the privilege to inh...more
Ackerman sums up her intention for this book wonderfully in her introduction--
"To begin to understand the gorgeous fever that is consciousness, we must try to understand the senses--how they evolved, how they can be extended, what their limits are, to which one we have attached taboos, and what they can teach us about the ravishing world we have the privilege to inh...more
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Diane Ackerman received her B.A. in English from Penn State and an M.F.A. and Ph.D. in English from Cornell University in 1978. Her dissertation advisor was Carl Sagan. From 1980 to 1983 she taught English at the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has been married to novelist Paul West since 1970. She currently resides in Ithaca, New York. A collection of her manuscripts, writings and pap...more
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“Look at your feet. You are standing in the sky. When we think of the sky, we tend to look up, but the sky actually begins at the earth. We walk through it, yell into it, rake leaves, wash the dog, and drive cars in it. We breathe it deep within us. With every breath, we inhale millions of molecules of sky, heat them briefly, and then exhale them back into the world.”
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“Words are small shapes in the gorgeous chaos of the world.”
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