A Natural History of the Senses and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more

List Price: $16.95
Save: $5.79 (34%)

FREE Shipping on orders over $35.

In Stock.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Gift-wrap available.

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Buy Used

$6.84

Used: Good | Details

Sold by giggil

Fulfilled by Amazon

Condition: Used: Good

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 2 images

A Natural History of the Senses Paperback – September 10, 1991

by Diane Ackerman (Author)

122 customer reviews

See all 28 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Amazon Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$13.99

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

—

$8.95

$0.48

Paperback

"Please retry"

$11.16

$4.24

$0.01

Audio, Cassette

"Please retry"

—

$149.99

$77.00

Unknown Binding

"Please retry"

—

$4.01

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 New York Times. (Literature--Classics & Contemporary)

Frequently Bought Together

Total price: $37.92

Buy the selected items together

This item:A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman Paperback $11.16
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $35. Details
A Natural History Of Love by Diane Ackerman Paperback $14.52
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $35. Details
An Alchemy of Mind: The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain by Diane Ackerman Paperback $12.24
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $35. Details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Diane Ackerman

22

Paperback
$14.52
Diane Ackerman

34

Paperback
$12.24
Lawrence Weschler

15

Paperback
$20.26
Jan Chipchase

14

Hardcover
$20.07
Diane Ackerman

27

Paperback
$13.08
John Maeda

97

Hardcover
$13.25

Special Offers and Product Promotions

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"One of the real tests of writers," notes Ackerman in this liveliest of nature books, "is how well they write about smells. If they can't describe the scent of sanctity in a church, can you trust them to describe the suburbs of the heart?" Ackerman passes the test, writing with ease and fluency about the five senses. Did you know that bat guano smells like stale Wheat Thins? That Bach's music can quell anger around the world? That the leaves that shimmer so beautifully in fall have "no adaptive purpose"? Ackerman does, and she guides us through questions of sensation with an eye for the amusingly arcane reference and just the right phrase.

From Publishers Weekly

Physiology and philosophy mesh in this poetic investigation of the five senses; essays explore synesthesia, food taboos, kissing and the power and diversity of music. "Rooted in science, enlivened by her own convincing sense of wonder, Ackerman's essays awaken us to a fresh awareness," said PW.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Start reading A Natural History of the Senses on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Product Details

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Vintage (September 10, 1991)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0679735666
ISBN-13: 978-0679735663
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (122 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,584 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #21 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Nature Writing & Essays
- #25 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Natural History
- #40 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Anthropology > General

Would you like to update product info, give feedback on images, or tell us about a lower price?

Customer Reviews

122

4.4 out of 5 stars

5 star		66%
4 star		20%
3 star		6%
2 star		3%
1 star		5%

See all 122 customer reviews

Share your thoughts with other customers

Write a customer review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 59 people found the following review helpful

A cultural, creative, and sensory delight

By Peggy Vincent on February 24, 2004

Format: Paperback

After reading a few of Ackerman's New Yorker pieces, as well as The Moon by Whale Light and her contribution to Sisters of the Earth, I knew I would eventually read all of her books. A Natural History of the Senses does not disappoint. It flows like cool water through literature, history, music, politics, philosophy, and poetry. As a writer, I appreciate this book as a resource of my own, a way to deepen my understanding of our sensory appreciation of the world - but also as an example of beautiful writing by a master of the craft.
In a nutshell, I wish Diane Ackerman lived next door to me.

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback. If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

48 of 51 people found the following review helpful

Poetry and Science

By czimm@sfsu.edu on December 4, 1998

Format: Paperback

When I first read Diane Ackerman's book it opened my eyes, just as these other reviews testify. It does seem to be a book people either love or hate (I have some friends who thought it was sentimental babbling) but that doesn't change how extravagantly Ackerman uses language itself to convey the lush world of the senses. I teach a creative writing course at SFSU and I use the book to promote both that poetic description and the possibilities for experience and awareness the book evokes. An excellent example of the ways poetry can be used to explain science and experience.

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback. If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful

from UofLIFE.com/book review

By Shaun Roundy on June 29, 2000

Format: Paperback

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.

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback. If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

49 of 56 people found the following review helpful

A mixture of the memorable, the informative, and the banal

By D. Cloyce Smith on June 20, 2006

Format: Paperback

Essayist and poet Diane Ackerman is probably best known for her wonderful New Yorker articles on her investigations of the animal kingdom (including extraordinarily memorable pieces on bats and penguins), most of which have been collected in books. In those acclaimed essays, her idiosyncratic and emotive musings transform the behaviors of other creatures to a human and humane understanding while avoiding anthropomorphic traps.

In "A Natural History of the Senses," Ackerman shifts her considerable observational skills from the animal realm to more familiar human territory. She divides her discussion into the five senses, plus a short section on "synesthesia"; in spite of the book's title, there's not much history involved. Somewhat like her essays on nature, each chapter includes random observations, anecdotes, and thoughts on the various aspects of the topic at hand.

Some of Ackerman's morsels are first-class, and she seems particularly to hit her stride in the section on "Taste." Her distinctive wit is on full display when she discusses the food endured by survivalists, such as a recipe for moose soup: "I particularly like the recipe's opening: 'You've just killed a moose.' It reminds me of recipe I read for stir-fried dog, which began: 'First clean and eviscerate a healthy puppy.'" Her book is a pleasure in such instances, when it reads like a turbo-charged entry of an encyclopedia, explaining "why polar bears are not white" or pondering the aesthetics of full-body tattoos or interviewing a human "nose" for a fragrance manufacturer or investigating the importance of touch for the healthy development of prematurely born infants.Read more ›

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback. If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

"The Heady Succulence of Life" (p. 41)

By J. Duncan Berry on August 29, 2006

Format: Paperback

Imagine having a witty and informed guided tour of one's own sensory apparatus! That is what Ackerman offers. By turns intensely intellectual and cybaritic, the result is an irresistable romp through the world of newly magnified familiarities.

Some gems: chocolate as "an emotional food" (p. 154). "Hands are messengers of emotion" (p. 118). "The tongue is like a kingdom divided into principalities according to sensory talent" (p. 139).

And on page 20: "Smell was the first of our senses, and it was so successful that in time the small lump of olfactory tissue atop the nerve cord grew into a brain. Our cerebral hemispheres were originally buds from the olfactory stalks. We THINK because we SMELLED."

Highly recommended. A terrific mental flight while trying to endure air travel!

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback. If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

Sense and Sensibility

By gtra1n VINE VOICE on December 4, 1997

Format: Paperback

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.

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback. If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

Well Done

By Avery Christy on April 8, 2001

Format: Paperback

Do not confuse this book for science or hard fact. 'A Natural History of the Senses' is a well done book of lyrical prose that is meant to be relaxed with and enjoyed. Diane Ackerman is quite possibly a lyrical stylist that, much like any past writer, uses the conciousness of her time to bring alive the beliefs, feelings, and concerns that she and others face in their lifetime. Using delightful and fascinating information integrated with insight and stunning language, she makes one become more aware of the senses that we sometimes take for granted.

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback. If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

See all 122 customer reviews (newest first)

Write a customer review

Customer Images

See all customer images

Most Recent Customer Reviews

A wonderful read for those of us who write--a go to ...

A wonderful read for those of us who write--a go to for inspiration on including sensory details. Reading it is an act of increased awareness.!

Published 3 days ago by Victoria Ceretto

Five Stars

This is a great book.

Published 18 days ago by L N Clark

Best reference book for writers

Writer's will find this a valuable four-star reference book. Others who are not interested in delving so deeply into the senses may not like this book. It is non-fiction. Read more

Published 29 days ago by Elizabeth R. Kral

It's really informative and reads easily, but I feel like I'm...

It's really informative and reads easily, but I feel like I'm skittering across the surface of things I would like to probe more deeply. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Janet Powers

It was required reading for a class but I found that I enjoyed it a...

Tons of interesting facts in this book. It was required reading for a class but I found that I enjoyed it a lot.

Published 3 months ago by Megan

Very boring, uninteresting book, poorly written.

Two things matter to me: good writing, and carefully handled content. This book did neither. Just long lists for senses, mixed in with author's autobiographical snippets. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Zoe

this is a good read. Second

This is one of those books you should have in your personal library for many reasons. First, this is a good read. Read more

Published 7 months ago by S. Hibdon

One Star

"It was so Yellow, I cried."
I'm done.

Published 7 months ago by SteelBubblez

Loaded with great information!

Fabulous lyrical writing! Using this book for a group discussion, reading only about 25 pages each week! Loaded with great information!

Published 8 months ago by Sue Nibeck

Four Stars

Really well written and full of interesting detail about the world of the senses.

Published 9 months ago by Sylvia Keepers

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more