The Scent of Desire: Discovering Our Enigmatic Sense of Smell

By Rachel Herz

Book Overview

Shakespeare wrote that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. But if you cannot smell, does the rose lose its sweetness? The first and definitive book on the psychology of smell, The Scent of Desire traces the importance of smell in our lives, from nourishment to procreation to our relationships with the people closest to us and the world at large. Smell was the very first sense to evolve and is located in the same part of the brain that processes emotion, memory, and motivation. To our ancestors, the sense of smell wasn't just important, it was crucial to existence and it remains so today. Our emotional, physical, even sexual lives are profoundly shaped by both our reactions to and interpretations of different smells. Why do some people like a certain smell and others hate it? Is smell personal or cultural? How does smell affect our choices and our daily lives? Rachel Herz explores these questions and examines the role smell plays in our lives, and how this most essential of senses is imperative to our physical and emotional well-being. Herz investigates how our sense of smell functions, examines what purpose it serves, and shows how inextricably it is linked to our survival. She introduces us to people who have lost their ability to smell and shows how their experiences confirm this sense's importance by illuminating the traumatic effect its loss has on the quality of day-to-day living. Herz illustrates how profoundly scent and the sense of smell affect our daily lives with numerous examples and personal accounts based on her years of research. The wonders of our sense of smell are all explored in a compelling and engaging manner, from emotions and memory to aromatherapy and pheromones. For anyone who has ever wondered about human nature or been curious about the secrets of both the body and the mind, The Scent of Desire is a fascinating, down-to-earth tour of the psychology and biology of our most neglected sense, the sense of smell.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060825375
• ISBN13: 9780060825379
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 266 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

This book passes my smell test!

Add me to the list of people who love this book. My first and only other exposure to Herz' work was from the edited textbook of Wolfe et al. on Sensation and Perception. I have used that textbook five times to teach a large course at UCSD on sensation and perception. Herz' chapter in that book (on Olfaction) provides a superb introduction to the science of smell. In fact, I think I'd recommend that readers of "The Scent of Desire" consult that book if they find themselves craving pictures and diagrams. The colorful illustrations (and texbook website at Sinauer's site) povide quite a bit of elementary material that can be used to supplement Herz' new book (which unfortunately doesn't have pictures). I might also recommend the author's website, which contains plenty of supplemental/visual content. Having said this, I hasten to emphasize that the new book is fascinating, and covers the essential topics that will be of interest to many. The book is very well written AND (as far as i can tell) scientifically accurate, which is always a welcome combination when it comes to popular books on science. Some of my favorite topics included discussions of the history of smell, Proustian scents (and memory), King Moulay Ismail the Bloodthirsty, e-noses, and lust from a bottle (pheromones)...

Insightful and Engaging

The scent of desire has the aroma of delicious material presented in an elegant form. It teems with insightful facts about olfaction that are delightfully engaging. Dr. Herz manages to explain sophisticated research studies cogently but without losing out on accurate description, a very rare skill. The book will be enjoyable and informative for readers who are curious about human psychology and the neuroanatomy of smell. Aradhna Krishna Isadore and Leon Winkelman Professor, University of Michigan.

Who knew?

As a physician, I didn't think that I had much to learn from this book, nor a reason to really care. WRONG. Dr. Herz tells us things that impact our every waking hour. I can't stop talking about this book! You will be intrigued by her research and stories. Your nose will have an elevated place in heart. Highly recommended.

Who'd have thought?

Until I read The Scent of Desire, I never really thought very much about my sense of smell. Things smelled either good or bad and that was about it. It had never occurred to me that so much of what I thought was taste was actually smell or that scent had anything to do with who I was attracted to. After reading this book, I will no longer take my sense of smell for granted!

This book is Fascinating, Witty and Articulate!

I was lucky enough to get a galley copy, and I have already read the whole thing - cover to cover, twice. The examples, the author's experiences, the hypotheses, all rolled into one are just simply fascinating. I truly believe scent is the most important sense, and it really changed my life. Scent triggers memory, thus I used scent as a way to study for the bar exam. I used a "scent roll stick." It was clove flavored and I used to practically bathe in it every time I cracked a book to study. The day I sat for the bar I rubbed it all over me, so much so that the girl next to me was mildly offended. However, I passed the test with flying colors! Thank you Dr. Herz! -Theresa Rose Nickols, Esq.