The Emperor of Scent

344 Pages·2002·14.137 MB·English

by  Chandler Burr

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THE
EMPEROR
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SCENT
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CHANDLER BURR
Canada$37.95
For as long as anyone can remember, a man
named LucaTurinhas had anuncannyrela-
tionshipwithsmells. He hasbeen compared
tothe hero ofPatrickStiskind'snovelPerfume, but
his story is in fact stranger, because it is true. It
concerns howhe made use ofhis powerful giftsto
solve one ofthe last great mysteries ofthe human
body: how our noses work.
Luca Turin can distinguish the components of
justaboutanysmell, fromtheworld'smostrefined
perfumes to the air in a subway car on the Paris
metro. Adistinguished scientist, he once worked
in an unrelated field, though he made a hobby of
collectingfragrances. Butwhen, asalark, hepub-
lished a collection of his reviews of the world's
perfumes, thebookhitthe small, insularbusiness
of perfume makers like a thunderclap. Who is
this man Luca Turin, they demanded, and how
does he knowso much? The closed community of
scent creation opened up to Luca Turin, and he
discovered a fact that astonished him: no one in
this world knew how smell worked. Billions and
billions ofdollars were spent creating scents in a
manner amountingto glorifiedtrial and error.
The solution to the mystery of every other
humansensehasledtothe Nobel Prize, ifnotvast
riches. Why, Luca Turinthought, should smell be
any different? So he gave his life to this great
puzzle. And in the end, incredibly, itwould seem
that he solved it. But when enormously powerful
interests are threatened and great reputations
are at stake, Luca Turin learned, nothing is quite
what it seems.
AcclaimedwriterChandlerBurrhasspentfour
years chronicling Luca Turin's quest to unravel
the mysteryofhowoursense ofsmellworks.What
has emerged is an enthralling, magical bookthat
changesthewaywe thinkaboutthat areabetween
our mouth and our eyes, and its profound, secret
hold on ourlives.
BEL-TIB BOOKS
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ALSO BY CHANDLER BURR
A Separate Creation
TH PEROR OF SCENT

THE
RO
R
P E
O
F
SCENT
A STOHy OF PERFUME, OBSESSION,
AND THE LAST MySTEKy
OF THE SENSES
CHANDLER BURR
RANDOM HOUSE NEW YORK
il /
©
Copyright 2002byChandlerBurr
AllrightsreservedunderInternationalandPan-American
CopyrightConventions.PublishedintheUnitedStatesbyRandomHouse,Inc.,
NewYork,andsimultaneouslyinCanadabyRandomHouse
ofCanadaLimited,Toronto.
RandomHouseandcolophonareregisteredtrademarks
ofRandomHouse,Inc.
GratefulacknowledgmentismadetoRutgersUniversityPressforpermissionto
©
reprintexcerptsfromIgnition,byJohnD.Clark.Copyright 1972byRutgers,
TheStateUniversity.ReprintedbypermissionofRutgersUniversityPress.
AlltheillustrationsinthisworkweredrawnbyMarieGuibert,excludingthe
drawingsofmusicalnotesonpage 26,whichweredonebyChristopherJ.Mossey,
andthedrawingofthemolecularshapesofferroceneandnickelocene
onpage 106,whichwasdonebyLucaTurin.Allillustrations
areusedbypermissionoftheindividualartists.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Burr,Chandler.
Theemperorofscent:astoryofperfume,obsession,
andthelastmysteryofthesenses/ ChandlerBurr.
p. cm.
ISBN0-375-J0797-3
I. Turin,Luca—. 2. Smell. —3. Nose.
4. Biophysici.sts GreatBritain Biography.
I. Title.
QP4J8 .B83 2002
—
612.86 dc2i 2002023697
RandomHousewebsiteaddress:www.atrandom.com
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmericaonacid-freepaper
24689753
FirstEdition
BookdesignbyJoAnneMetsch