Gandhi the Vile 2008-11-20

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A Natural History of the Senses is Diane Ackerman's celebration of smell, touch, taste, hearing and vision. It is one part science text, as Ackerman gives thorough coverage of how each sense works, and part ode, as she also provides many vivid, detailed examples.

There are some very interesting facts here: for example, each hair on your head grows for two to six years, at which point the follicle rests and that hair falls out. Other times, Ackerman is strangely, egregiously wrong. For example, she says, "Our skin makes up about 16 percent of our body weight (about six pounds)" (p. 69). Lady, do you weigh 38 pounds?

Ackerman has a bizarre, spiritual obsession with evolution, like she's crying out for a meaningful relationship with God while holding herself above such a concept. She's high on mysticism but low on religion. This Oprah-style treatment of the world doesn't gel well.

Ackerman writes utterly without inhibitions. The best example of this is her detailed account of how she once stuck her arm up a cow's vagina (for veterinary purposes). She is also quick to connect every sense to sex as often as possible. Sometimes, it makes sense, other times it's an obvious stretch, and the reader may well wonder why she's trying so hard.

A Natural History of the Senses has some worthwhile material in it, although each section runs overlong. Ackerman's unique style is both a help and a hindrance to this book, as she's charming at times and tiresome and ridiculous at others.

Constance Rich 2008-10-20

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Ackerman analyzes different aspects of the senses beautifully, although occasionally ad nauseam. A Natural History of the Senses is eloquently and captivatingly written, and many of Ackerman's insights are thought provoking. Although sometimes off track and often rambling, especially in historical terms, almost every passage left some impression on me. The lingual ties, biological sources, and cultural differences of each sense for the most part are fascinating and often incredibly romantic.

The book is divided into examinations of the five senses with subsections on particular aspects of the sense. Ackerman analyzes the sense of smell through the historical ties (e.g. Napoleon's captivation with violets), the biological pathways, and the cultural importance (the influence of scents, especially perfumes, on our lives). The "touch" section focuses more on the biology of the sense, taking much more time to explain revolutionary studies as well as the biological source of our desire for intimacy. In "Taste," Ackerman proposes "nature vs. nurture" arguments regarding our cravings. In the section on hearing, Ackerman dissects language, music, and the relationship between them, with special emphasis on hearing of animals. In the section "Sight," Ackerman gives a cultural, biological, and anthropological perspective on the sense, especially on our perception of beauty and nature. Finally, Ackerman ties the sections together through "senescence," the influence of one sense on the others, because it is most commonly all of our senses combined that elicit a complex response.

Smell
Ackerman brilliantly narrates the complexities of the sense of smell, so incredible that spoken and written language can rarely adequately convey the sensation. She seamlessly shifts between significant cultural and historical accounts of the importance of smell, emphasizing this idea with personal views of people lacking this sense and people having especially acute senses of smell. Among the cultural and personal recounts, Ackerman takes time to explain the biological aspects of the sense of smell. She makes sure to keep the non-scientific reader's attention while mapping the pathway from the receptors in the nose through to the limbic system, initiating the emotional response of smell, by noting anatomical differences between different animals and races. Although the biological description lacks reference to many other aspects of the pathways, Ackerman manages to keep that attention to readers from all backgrounds.

Touch
Most of Ackerman's narratives from the section examining touch at least begin while therapeutically stroking a premature baby. The section is written beautifully, and this setting is kept in mind throughout it. She examines cultural influences of such rituals as tattoos and the fascination with pain in terms of the sense of touch. Although still interesting, the flow of Ackerman's writing seems a little more disorganized and disjointed.

Taste
While investigative taste Ackerman examines the psychopharmacology behind such favorites as chocolate, with specific emphasis on the importance of the biology and psychology working together. Some cultural ties she makes, especially concerning turns of phrase used in today's culture, seem to be a bit of a stretch while others seem to be superfluous. Despite these hiccups, the rest of the passage flows beautifully as Ackerman eloquently depicts details of scenes of Roman dinner parties, making the scene easy to sink into, as well as the complex pathways from taste to processing within the brain (including other areas involved such as scent) to the signals sent back.

Hearing
Although this section begins with a monotonous trace of lingual roots, this section interestingly investigates the range of hearing, especially what is outside of our range of hearing and its affect on us. It is more cohesive than the others in the book, but it seems to over-analyze aspects such as the hearing of animals. While describing whale songs, Ackerman includes a "sound poem [written] after a whale concert" (201), but this poem does not seem to give any insight into her argument but merely seems to be a superfluous page-filler. However her very detailed descriptions sometimes help make a story memorable: "The Violin Remembers" is very relatable because Ackerman speaks directly from her personal experience: she writes about her yearning for a Stradivarius violin: "How often I lusted after a Stradivarius that would transmute my sandpapery sounds to pure gold" (203).

Vision
Ackerman insightfully describes the sense as of sight as "the great monopolist of our senses" (229) and elaborates to explain the difficulty to focus on other senses with the great amount of stimuli entering the eye. She takes careful time to describe the evolution of the eye and the biological pathway and changes that occur in the process of sight. She also takes time to dissect how our sense of sight (including specifics on light and colors) affects our sense of well-being and is affected by culture, such as our perception of beauty. Some of the subsections seem misplaced, especially the section about "How to watch the sky" (235): listless descriptions of experiences on ships and in meadows distract from her main focus.

A Natural History of the Senses is incredibly informative and flows well, for the most part. Even the information gleaned from Ackerman's ramblings is usually related to the main analysis to a point and is thought provoking. Although I may not agree with all of Ackerman's views, I would not have normally considered the root of behaviors and views that she discusses. These wordy offshoots as well as the meat of her arguments are written incredibly eloquently. I would not suggest this book for someone looking quickly for answers, whether the question is cultural, biological, or historical. This book is quick and perfect for someone with an interest in our perceptions of the world and how they relate to our inner workings and how they compare to those of people from different cultures.

S. Miller 2008-09-05

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One of my very top all time favorites. Ackerman's writing is fantastic, and the subject is incredible. Cannot recommend highly enough-- I even own multiple loaner-copies! Before reading this, a book review would be about the story, characters, content. After reading..all that along with the texture of the print on the paper, the color of the cover, the smell of the ink, the quality of light while you were reading.. it opens your eyes and appreciation to a much richer world where all your senses are in play, all the time! A MUST READ.

A. Holley 2008-07-03

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I really enjoyed this book. It is full of interesting information about the five senses. I gave it only 4 out of 5 stars though because I thought the chapters on hearing and vision got a little off the topic at times.

Mary Lee Gowland 2008-05-30

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After reading "The Zookeepers Wife" I wanted to read more Diane Ackerman. She's such a great combination of scientist and poet - presenting fascinating facts in an engaging manner. Her writing informs and entertains and inspires me to write. Go Diane!