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Smell: The Secret Seducer is a cultural history, a compendium of odd facts, and a kind of tribute to the sense of smell, which, of the five senses, is the one we most commonly take for granted.
Piet Vroon is a psychologist in the Netherlands, and in this odd and surprising book he demonstrates that the sense of smell is vital to our experience of the world, which would be much less interesting and intelligible without its odors, fragrances, aromas, and scents. Imagine being overcome unexpectedly by poison gas, being unable to smell the slyly fruity bouquet of a fine wine, or having no idea what one's lover smells like. A world without smell would be a sadly diminished place.
How we smell is Vroon's subject and his metier. In a brief history of smelling, Vroon shows how over time some cultures have exalted strong smells (associating them with passion, virility, and excitement), while others have considered them the evidence of decadence and barbarism. In Vroon's view, Western culture has been so thoroughly cleansed of unpleasant odors and stenches that we take the olfactory sense for granted.
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Previews available in: English
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1
Smell: the secret seducer
1997, Farrar, Straus & Giroux
in English
- 1st Farrar, Straus and Giroux ed.
0374257043 9780374257040
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Smell: The Secret Seducer
September 1997, Farrar Straus & Giroux (T)
in English
0374257043 9780374257040
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- Created April 29, 2008
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July 30, 2019 | Edited by MARC Bot | associate edition with work OL2624098W |
August 5, 2010 | Edited by IdentifierBot | added LibraryThing ID |
April 24, 2010 | Edited by Open Library Bot | Fixed duplicate goodreads IDs. |
April 16, 2010 | Edited by bgimpertBot | Added goodreads ID. |
April 29, 2008 | Created by an anonymous user | Imported from amazon.com record |