Smell gets a bad press: most people would rather lose their sense of smell
than any of the others. But Piet Vroon’s Smell: The Secret Seducer discusses
smell dauntlessly and does the least-valued sense proud. Vroon steers an
enjoyable course, from the details of the olfactory system to its mostly
overlooked importance in human affairs—of all kinds. Published by Farrar,
Straus and Giroux, $23, ISBN 0374257043.
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