The Emperor of Scent

A True Story of Perfume and Obsession

By: Chandler Burr

Narrated by: Jamie Renell

"A brilliant, feisty scientist at the center of a nasty, back-stabbing, utterly absorbing, cliff-hanging scramble for the Nobel Prize. The Emperor of Scent is a quirky, wonderful book." -John Berendt, author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

The Emperor of Scent tells of the scientific maverick Luca Turin, a connoisseur and something of an aesthete who wrote a bestselling perfume guide and bandied about an outrageous new theory on the human sense of smell. Drawing on cutting-edge work in biology, chemistry, and physics, Turin used his obsession with perfume and his eerie gift for smell to turn the cloistered worlds of the smell business and science upside down, leading to a solution to the last great mystery of the senses: how the nose works.

©2003 Chandler Burr (P)2022 Tantor

Science is not without bias. It takes strength to rock the boat.

It is dense with a lot of science explanation. However it's a fascinating story. I learned so much about smell and about human nature. What an entertaining ride.

Excellent Journey Through Science and Scent

If you have even a passing interest in either the art of scent or the institution of science, this is absolutely worth a listen.

Fascinating story, exquisitely narrated

This is a fascinating book. Though not my primary area of expertise, as an academic scientist in biomedical research, I greatly admire how accurately the author depicts the underlying science and experimental approaches, with only a few minor inaccuracies. The portrayal of the interpersonal dynamics in academia—marked by big egos, struggles, and the challenges of the often controversial peer-review process—is remarkably well done. The narration is exceptional, setting a standard I wish all audiobooks could meet.

loved everything about it.

I loved everything about this listen. The topic, the people, the style, and the performance.

Perseverance

The perseverance and trust in his own science, and blessings to Chandler Burr for following and recording this man’s story. Thank you.