The Secret of Scent: Adventures in Perfume and the Science of Smell Paperback – Illustrated, October 23, 2007

I will leave it up to Mr Turin and his fellow researchers in this field to determine whether his theory is correct or not. Certainly I applaud him for putting it out there - to misquote Fran Liebowitz "no one has ever said, everything is fine, let's go invent fire". If Columbus, and every other sailor after him stayed with current knowledge, where would the global village be today? My own wishful thinking is that this marvellous bio-chemical-mechanical machine we call a body, does indeed operate in the quantum realm in some form or fashion. Mainly though my review is on all the marvellous content other than quantum mechanical noses, that this book contains. I envy Mr Turin's access and profession which allows him to research at will. His book was a delightful cornucopia of obscure (to the layman) data, spanning physics, chemistry, history, all put togther in a well written, entertaining, engrossing format. It was a pleasure to jump all over the map of science with him, it was a pleasure to see the coherence and methodology of what may at first appear to be a random interest in all matters scientific, it was a pleasure to witness the avid curiosity of his mind, and the quality of his writing on the whole - each turn of phrase, choice of words, made for an exceptional read. This book, with its numerous bits of data on all sorts of wonderful and interesting things, has led me to many enjoyable reads, retracing as best I can the footsteps of the author's reading and research.

This book is a really complete work! All sorts of business and technology information re the making and selling of perfumes, are covered. This can almost count a little against the book, as some quite technical topics are covered in great detail.For example, the chemistry of perfume ingredients is discussed in detail that can floor the reader who has no organic chemical background. The discussion topics include molecular structures and techniques for analysis of mixtures or of successful perfumes.On the other hand, there is very heavy coverage of the business aspects of perfumery, which I managed to slog through because they are a critical part of the topic.Some people may find it difficult not to skip sections of the book. This illustrates how complete the book is. I read the business aspect, not normally my interest, because its so relevant to perfumery, and I eagerly absorbed the chemical information because I majored in synthetic organic chemistry.As seems to be generally true of perfumery discussions, there's a lot of French phrases! They're translated as one reads on, so this is not confusing. My opinion is that French has nice words, but so does English. Flavor is important!

A little too heavy on the science part but in GREAT shape as expected and promised. Would have been a better book if it had been in simpler terms for the nonscientific person. (I flipped through the book when I got it and as soon as I saw the pictures of all the molecules(?), I closed the book and decided to pick it up later...but WILL read it when I'm in the mood for something a little "heavier")

Luca Turin has produced a wonderful volume on the world of perfume and the chemistry behind it.The pages are packed with personal stories and wonderfully refreshing insights from Luca Turin's decades in the perfume business.The material is very approachable, and I learned a lot reading the book.One caveat, while this did not remove any stars for me, some people might be upset by his premise that we smell fragrances based on a complex vibrational analysis using quantum effects in the olfactory sensors.I'm not convinced, but that did not spoil the book for me.My favorite part of the book was the description of the various base scent categories and the types of molecules that made up the family of scents.Brilliant!

I am a great fan of Lucas Turin. His biography "The Emperor of Scent" is a lush, exciting look into the world of scent, perfume, science and research. This book is Turin's story. A little grittier than the biography, but intriguing to anyone with a good nose, an interest in science, serendipity and truth is better than fiction sensability.

It was a nice shopping indeed and it arrived much earlier than the given time.The cargo is fine.But the book is perfect. For me whose English is mediocre it's easy as a piece of cake to read and understand and it's for Turin's fluent and easy understanding yet through pen.

Not finished the book yet but so far enjoying somewhat whimsical perspective. It certainly makes you think and provides some valuable insights into perfumery industry and technology albeit though author seems to also have some personal frustrations that come through in the narrative.

This is an uncommon subject dealt with in an extremely interesting way. If you have any interest in perfume, or even if you haven't, you will not be able to put this book down.