A Natural History of Love : Author of the National Bestseller A Natural History of the Senses

Diane Ackerman's lusciously written grand tour of the realm of the senses includes conversations with an iceberg in Antarctica and a professional nose in New York, along with dissertations on kisses and tattoos, sadistic cuisine and the music played by the planet Earth. "Delightful . . . gives the reader the richest possible feeling of the worlds the senses take in." -- The New York Times

In a rare blend of scientific fact and poetic truth, the acclaimed author of A Natural History of the Senses explores the activities of whales, penguins, bats, and crocodilians, plunging headlong into nature and coming up with highly entertaining treasures.

Publishers Weekly

With unfettered curiosity and a high degree of engagement, poet and naturalist Ackerman ( A Natural History of the Senses ) sported among penguins in subantarctic rookeries and herds of alligators on a Florida alligator farm, gathering experience with the creatures featured in these four lively, information-packed accounts. Whether writing of hunting bats in Texas caves or of swimming next to a mother whale and her calf in a Patagonian bay, Ackerman makes vivid the qualities and appeal of animals and the natural world they inhabit. Fueled primarily by her own response to the creatures, her reports also encompass hosts of facts (an alligator might grow as many as 3000 teeth in its lifespan; the testes of the male right whale weigh as much as 2200 lbs.), often related in a particularly revealing way, as in her observation that more people can be found in a football stadium on an autumn weekend afternoon than have ever seen the Antarctic in all of history. As commanding as the animals are the experts whose expeditions she joins--men and women, like whale expert Roger Payne, who possess extraordinary knowledge and passionate commitments to the creatures they study and work to save from extinction. Enthusiastic, free-ranging and accessible, this is popular natural-history writing at its most persuasive. (Oct.)

Following the triumphant success of her A Natural History of the Senses, Diane Ackerman has turned her formidable gifts to that greatest gift of all - the elusive, eternal, and endlessly interesting matter of love. The result is pure Ackerman: a splendid, serious, scientific, poetic, playful, and lyrical "tour d'horizon" of love's many forms and faces. Ackerman draws on a variety of sources, both classical and from her immediate experience. The historical, cultural, religious, and biological roots of love are all explored and illuminated. She gives a fresh new reading to Freud ("mapping the war zones of the heart"), Stendhal (love as fantasy), and Proust ("the erotics of waiting"), and draws lessons from lovers across time. Her attention then moves to the physical - the chemistry, biology, and neurophysiology associated with love in the brain, mind, and body. She discusses the "evolution of the face," the cuddle, both as caress and as chemical, and the customs of marriage. There are astonishments everywhere. Her distinctive touch, aided by her personal adventures and explorations, enriches our understanding of women and horses, men and mermaids, sex and flying, and other equally enticing subjects. The book begins: "Love is the great intangible." Diane Ackerman then proceeds to make it more tangible, traceable, breathable, and ... well, lovable.

the Bestselling Author Of A Natural History Of The Senses Now Explores The Allure Of Adultery, The Appeal Of Aphrodisiacs, And The Cult Of The Kiss. Enchantingly Written And Stunningly Informed, This "audaciously Brilliant Romp Through The World Of Romantic Love" (washington Post Book World) Is The Next Best Thing To Love Itself.

library Journal

in Her Long-anticipated Companion Volume To a Natural History Of The Senses, Ackerman Mines Deep Within The Caves Of Human Emotion For Artifacts Of 'the Great Intangible': Love. Proceeding With The Disdainful Understanding That Sociologists Prefer To Study Negative Behaviors And Emotions, Ackerman Sets Out On Her Exploration By Reviewing The Lessons Provided Across Time By Such Lovers As Antony And Cleopatra, Orpheus And Eurydice, Dido And Aeneas, Abelard And Eloise, And Romeo And Juliet. During This Journey, She Explores The Neurophysiology Of Love And Exposes The Components Of Modern-day Relationships, From The 'new Age Sensitive Guy'' To Sexual Chic. With Dazzling Poetic Charm And Insight, She Uses History, Literature, Science, Psychology, And Personal Experience As Tools To Illuminate The Vigor And Vehemence Of The Thrilling, Devastating, And Comforting Phenomenon Of Love. -- David R. Johnson, Louisiana State University Library

In A Natural History of the Senses Diane Ackerman revealed herself as a naturalist who writes with the sensuous immediately of a great poet. Now Jaguar of Sweet Laughter presents the work of a poet with the precise and wondering eye of a gifted naturalist.

Ackermans's Olympian vision records and transforms landscapes from Amazonia to Antarctica, while her imaginative empathy penetrates the otherness of hummingbirds, deer, and trilobites. But even as they draw readers into the wild heart of nature, Ackerman's poems are indelible reminders of what it is to be a human being -- the "jaguar of sweet laughter" that, according to Mayan mythology, astonished the world because it was the first animal to speak.

Diane Ackerman's lusciously written grand tour of the realm of the senses includes conversations with an iceberg in Antarctica and a professional nose in New York, along with dissertations on kisses and tattoos, sadistic cuisine and the music played by the planet Earth. "Delightful . . . gives the reader the richest possible feeling of the worlds the senses take in."--The New York Times. (Literature--Classics & Contemporary) From the Trade Paperback edition. Publisher's description: In a rare blend of scientific fact and poetic truth, the acclaimed author of A Natural History of the Senses explores the activities of whales, penguins, bats, and crocodilians, plunging headlong into nature and coming up with highly entertaining treasures This collection of verse touches on such topics as a hospital vigil, the Amazon rain forest, and the icy Antarctic, and offers a selection from the author's dramatic poem about a Mexican nun and the Inquisition. A wide-ranging examination of human affection in history, literature, biology, and pop culture