The Emperor of Scent: A True Story of Perfume and Obsession | 
 enlarge | Author: Chandler Burr
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Rating:  39 reviews
Sales Rank: 145191
Media: Paperback
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 0375759816
Dewey Decimal Number: 923
EAN: 9780375759819
ASIN: 0375759816
Publication Date: February 10, 2004
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Product Description
The Emperor of Scent tells of the scientific maverick Luca Turin, a connoisseur and something of an aesthete who wrote a bestselling perfume guide and bandied about an outrageous new theory on the human sense of smell. Drawing on cutting-edge work in biology, chemistry, and physics, Turin used his obsession with perfume and his eerie gift for smell to turn the cloistered worlds of the smell business and science upside down, leading to a solution to the last great mystery of the senses: how the nose works.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 34 more reviews...
 Wonderful writing!, April 18, 2008
MsTikl1 (California)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Well written - hard to put down.
This book reveal the politics at the heart of the "scientific process" in a fascinating, entertaining, and completely personal way. Even the chemistry is made accessible and inspires a desire to learn more.
Burr's characterization of Turin is honest, funny and completely human. An excellent adventure! I can't wait to read more of his work!
The Emporor Of Scent March 29, 2008
S. Belson (San Anselmo, CA United States)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I read everything Chandler Burr writes. This is his most magnificent offering - easy to follow and wonderful to know. He switches back and forth from NY to France over and over until you are entirely entranced.
A fascinating tour de force. February 24, 2008
David M. Giltinan (San Francisco)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is simply awesome. Before reading it, I was already somewhat familiar with its subject matter (it's the story of the distinctly unorthodox biophysicist, Luca Turin, and his efforts to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms underlying the sense of smell). I'd seen a BBC documentary about Turin's work, which was interesting and accessible. I'd also read Turin's own account, "The Secret of Scent", which was oddly less interesting than one would expect, given the flamboyance of Turin's personality, and which left key aspects of the research maddeningly opaque, though not deliberately so - I look forward to reading it again, now that I've read Burr's account.
Chandler Burr and Luca Turin met by chance, when both were waiting for the (delayed) Eurostar train from Paris to London. During the trip, Turin explained his work, and the revolutionary theory of smell which it supported; by the time they arrived at Waterloo Station, Burr knew that he had to write about it. Their meeting was a stroke of luck for Turin, and for all of us. Burr's account of Turin's work approaches perfection: it's articulate, fascinating, funny, and extraordinarily well-written. His ability to explain the details of Turin's somewhat abstruse theory in an accessible fashion leaves me slackjawed in admiration. The ability to communicate scientific ideas effectively to non-specialists is an important skill in my job, so I know how hard it can be, and have a healthy respect for anyone who can manage it. Only a handful of science writers can do it well; Chandler Burr makes it look effortless.
This ability alone, to make scientifically complex subjects accessible to the general reader, would make the book worth reading. But the book is much more than a clear exposition of a difficult scientific exploration. It's a fascinating story, with larger-than-life characters, backstabbing, intrigue, bad behavior among scientists, written in a way that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
One of the best books I've read in the last five years.
Amazing June 15, 2007
Michael Simmons (Cincinnati, Ohio)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Burr is simply amazing. One of the top five books I've ever read. The story of Luca Turin's "Theory of Smell." Who would have known in this day and age the world had no idea how the nose worked? Turin's road to discovery and the obstacles set before him by the closed-minded academia. Burr does an amazing job of setting the stage honing in on Turin's eccentricities. A great insight into perfume, perfume makers, and a brief history of perfume. I have given over fifty copies to friends and customers. Even today most ENT doctors have not read the [..]the nose.
 Convincing But One Sided and With No Resolution May 10, 2007
Curmudgeon99 (Manhattan, NY)
0 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is an interesting book until it occurs to you that his claim has not been proved. This is annoying because there is indeed no presentation of the opposing side and so without any semblance of balance we cannot really know if this is valid or not.
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