A Natural History of the Senses Summary and Reviews

A Natural History of the Senses
by Diane Ackerman

A Natural History of the Senses
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Book Summary Information

Author: Diane Ackerman
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1991-09-10
ISBN: 0679735666
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Vintage
Accessories:

Book Reviews of A Natural History of the Senses

Book Review: A Natural History of the Senses is a feast!
Summary: 5 Stars

Our senses define the edges of consciousness. How we delight our senses varies greatly from culture to culture, yet the ways in which we use our senses is exactly the same for all of us!

"We like to think that we are finely evolved creatures, in suit-and-tie or pantyhose-and-chemise, who live many millennia & mental detours away from the cave, but that's not something our bodies are convinced of."

Ah! What a bouquet is this book. Diane Ackerman has plucked for our consideration & entertainment a posey of senses: smell - touch - taste - hearing - vision - synesthesia. Sections that delight: Of Violets and Neurons; The Inner Climate; Adventures in the Touch Dome; Food and Sex; The Bloom of a Taste Bud; The Hearing Heart; Cathedrals in Sound; How To Watch The Sky; Watching a Night Launch of the Space Shuttle; Courting The Muse.

Her writing is a tapestry rich in textures & tastes, evoking nothing less than a feast for our mind, in & of itself a sensory organ or perhaps Grand Central Station to which all stimuli arrive.

My son gave me this treasure one Winter Solstice & that is the time of year I usually take it down & embark upon another cruise, refreshing my palate. As heady as the scent of elderberries in bloom; the taste of radishes fresh from the earth & the sound of grouse in a spring forest.

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