Why does a particular scent appeal to us? Do we inherit our sensibilities to smells or are they influenced by our culture? And what influence do odors have on our everyday decisions? Rachel Herz, a well-known scent expert, addresses all of these questions in her book “The Scent of Desire”, in which she sometimes convinces her readers with scientific studies and at others with charming anecdotes.

In the process Rachel Herz presents us with numerous amazing findings. For example she explains why people with no sense of smell can tend towards depression and cannot tell the difference between the taste of red wine and cold coffee. Readers also learn how smells influence our shopping behavior, why people the world over love the smell of newborn babies and why our memories are often connected to smells.

However this book is more than just an interesting textbook on the influence of scent. It is also a call to use our sense of smell with more awareness.