a natural history of the senses by diane ackerman

Ackerman's mission, and she's very persuasive.

To think our way back into feeling: this is Ms. There is a tendency now to condescend to nature.

Our senses are callused, covered with the scar tissue of our sophistication. It seems toīe the essence of the modern attitude to distrust the natural, even as we proclaim it. They ''define the edges of consciousness.'' Yet we haven't treated these voluptuous faculties of ours very well. ''We live on the leash of our senses,'' she says. ''Life,'' she writes, ''showers over everything, radiant, gushing,''Īnd so does she. It fairlyĪ poet, a nature writer and the author of ''On Extended Wings,'' a memoir about flying, Ms. Her book is rather like an ecology of the body. It's a valuable project, and for the most part she does it well. Like a marriage counselorīringing a separated husband and wife back together, she proposes to reintroduce us to our neglected senses. To borrow a phrase from Allen Ginsberg, she is a ''great experiencer,'' and she is eager to share her experiences with us.

Ackerman's willingness to use herself as a medium. Interesting and excessive, as the book itself is. Not only did it not tangle, it began to cough gentlyįrom the mingling smells of my soap, cologne, saltiness, oils, and other human odors.'' This quotation captures perfectly the mood of ''A Natural History of the Senses'' by Diane Ackerman. Placed a large Indonesian flying fox in my hair, to see if it would get entangled, as the old wives' tales warned. JAn Athlete of Perception By ANATOLE BROYARD

A natural history of the senses by diane ackerman