Scent and Subversion: Decoding A Century Of Provocative Perfume Hardcover – November 5, 2013

I have long been a fan of Barbara Herman's blog Yesterday's Perfume, and now her book is just as much a joy to read.Like "The Guide," by Turin and Sanchez, it discusses the virtues of fragrance as a wine connoisseur discusses wines--without shame. Fragrance can indeed be enjoyed like fine food or wine--as a sensual pleasure. One may not agree with all the comments and observations Herman makes, but this book is a great writing on the great perfumes of history since the advent of commercial perfumery. Her writing is tongue-in-cheek and informative, hilarious at times, and never boring. A must for every perfume aficionado!

This is a gem. All the great scents from the 19th century to 2001 with note trees and honest impressions by the very knowledgeable author. Presented by year of release within decade of release, accompanied by drawings and photos of the period advertising. Excellent all round essays on scent and the history of the perfume world abound.Anyone interested in pursuing collecting and experiencing vintage parfums must have this as their bible.

This book does such a great job describing scent. It's descriptions of perfumes are evocative, detailed, and fun. The book covers the history of perfume and explains on every page why people love it. It also has a lot to say about the sociology, as scent is a window into societal mores, gender notions, and sexuality. The book also manages to explain the science of scent and discuss how to cultivate your own scent knowledge. I learned something on every page; this book is a joy!

I love reading this, plenty of photos, and explanations, etc. I find it extremely interesting and well written and researched. EXtremely SLOW shipping though.

There are so many wonderful things about this book, not the least of which are its gorgeous design and lovely full-color reproductions of fabulous vintage perfume advertisements.But the best thing for me is the abundantly evident enthusiasm, curiosity, and enjoyment with which the author approaches her subject matter. Writing about perfume isn't the easiest thing in the world (no matter how effortless Turin & Sanchez make it seem), but Ms. Herman has a deft touch in making these scents jump to life off the page ... and making at least this reader start prowling eBay and vintage decant websites for samples of the perfumes she so lusciously describes.An essential addition to the small but growing library of perfume reference works, and a book which I know I'll be dipping into for years to come whenever I need to remind myself that perfume is indeed "the most portable form of intelligence".

Fascinating look at the "meaning" of perfumes, with welcome attention to the evolution of popular taste in scents over the past 80-90 years. I would have given it a much higher rating if 1) there had been more overview text, as opposed to individual perfume reviews, which are interesting but not very communicative if you haven't got them handy to sniff, and 2) if she''d indexed by perfumers' names as well as name of perfume, manufacturer, etc. Of course, these are my preferences; this book is less useful to me as material than some others, but that might just be me. And I will say that her writing evokes scents in creative and persuasive ways.

Barbara Herman's outstanding book is a compendium of perfume reviews similar to Turin/Sanchez's "The Guide," only the reviews in this book are primarily for vintage scents, plus this book contains many charming pictures of old-school perfume ads. Vintage perfume lovers will find that the gang's all here with reviews of classics like Chanel No. 5 and Shalimar, to slightly more obscure groundbreakers like Tabac Blonde, Iris Gris, and Bandit. And drugstore classics, discontinued lovelies, and rare gems are included too, with scents like Toujours Moi, Djedi, Jovan Mink & Pearls, Allysa Ashley Musk oil, Loulou, Poeme, and so many more. The book's lengthy review section includes fragrances beginning in the 1800s all the way to the year 2000.You will know Barbara Herman from her popular vintage perfume blog, Yesterday's Perfume, and her mouthwatering descriptions and delightful turn of phrase are captured beautifully in the book's reviews. For example, this is from her review of Balmain's Vent Vert: "It sounds off with a bitter, verdant blast of galbanum like a trumpet's call, and shortly thereafter other flower notes run and swirl onto the stage like a ballet dancer in a production of Nijinsky's paganistic 'The Rite of Spring.'"Gorgeous, such an evocative description...The book also includes appendices including interviews with people in the perfume industry, a guide to animalic ingredients, a glossary of terms, and various other articles placed as bookends to the meat of the book, the reviews. As a vintage perfume wearer and lover, I'm so happy to have this resource. I strongly recommended it!

An impressive olfactory read for any perfume collector and historian. Herman links the zeitgeist with the scents, design, and fashion of the 20th century. My favorite thing to do is find my past favorites and learn about their origin, and I can smell them all over again.