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spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
1.0
Reading this book felt like sticking my entire face into an enormous bouquet of flowers and inhaling a lungful of pollen. Too much of a mildly interesting thing, is what I'm saying. This is some of the most florid prose I've read in a long time.
The etymological aspects were almost universally incorrect, repeating long-since-debunked conspiracy-level nonsense. For example:
Also, this is pedantic, but: it's PIE *puH-, not "pu."
The etymological aspects were almost universally incorrect, repeating long-since-debunked conspiracy-level nonsense. For example:
...in many European languages the slang names for prostitutes are variations on the Indo-European root pu, to decay or rot. In French, putain; to the Irish, old put; in Italian putta; puta in both Spanish and Portuguese.Yeah so this is just straight-up incorrect. The exact etymology of these words is unknown, but the most likely origin in every case is from the Latin puta (girl). "Putain" is from Old French, originally the oblique case of "pute" (same meaning), from Vulgar Latin putta, from Latin puta, the feminine form of putus (boy). The Italian is derived from the French, and the Spanish is thought to be connected to the Italian. Joan Corominas's Diccionario crítico etimológico de la lengua castellana (1954) and Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana (1961), widely considered some of the most accurate philological and etymological sources on the Spanish language, both corroborate this. The idea that "pute," "putain," and "puta" are from putida, putidus is incredibly unlikely.
Also, this is pedantic, but: it's PIE *puH-, not "pu."
chrisjm's review against another edition
4.0
Did you know that near-petrified whale vomit is the most expensive perfume scent out there? Well, I didn't.
You find out that fun fact as well as so many others about the history of your senses.
*pssst* I'll let you in on a little secret...
Most of what we do is because of sex.
You find out that fun fact as well as so many others about the history of your senses.
*pssst* I'll let you in on a little secret...
Most of what we do is because of sex.
brookebookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
This was interesting, but I felt like it was rather self-indulgent and often strayed from the theme. It took me a LONG time to get through it.
joe_fru's review against another edition
4.0
More so than any contemporary book I’ve read, this one made me want to be a fly on the wall when Ackerman’s editors discussed the book. I wonder what early drafts looked like in terms of prose and examples/research.
There’s a lot of rich, interesting material in A Natural History of the Senses—such as the parts about music in the “Hearing” chapter, fascinating stuff about how some famous painters likely had vision problems, or discussions of perfume-making in “Smell.”
And yet:
There’s also some self-indulgence, overwrought prose, meandering paragraphs, overstated points, and occasional thinkyness. “You’ve made your point. For real,” I kept wanting to say to the author when she provides a flurry of examples about a particular sense.
I say this as someone who loves Walt Whitman’s work: this book is similar to Song of Myself in its poetry and excess. Even if her delivery isn’t for you, the material is rich and thought-provoking.
There’s a lot of rich, interesting material in A Natural History of the Senses—such as the parts about music in the “Hearing” chapter, fascinating stuff about how some famous painters likely had vision problems, or discussions of perfume-making in “Smell.”
And yet:
There’s also some self-indulgence, overwrought prose, meandering paragraphs, overstated points, and occasional thinkyness. “You’ve made your point. For real,” I kept wanting to say to the author when she provides a flurry of examples about a particular sense.
I say this as someone who loves Walt Whitman’s work: this book is similar to Song of Myself in its poetry and excess. Even if her delivery isn’t for you, the material is rich and thought-provoking.