This book takes the reader on a fascinating fragrant journey around the world to some of the exciting places the author has visited during his 30 years of olfactory research.
Following an introductory section to the world of natural scents, including their biological meaning and history, the fragrance and flavor chemist, Roman Kaiser, who is renowned for his 'headspace' analytical technique, revisits some memorable scents. In doing so, he leads us to such exotic places as Lower Amazonia, Papua New Guinea, India, and many rain-forest biotopes in his quest for new molecules and new scent concepts, showing us along the way how a scent like tatami can be linked to culture. The third and final section describes the analysis of the compositions of the presented scents.
...Kaiser is a fine writer with a deep mind, and his ability to put us in touch with distant locations...present the unique opportunity for us to see how scent helps to refine (and define) a given culture. (Electric Review, February/March 2007) "This is a fascinating and enlightening book about the chemistry of flower scents and other natural materials..." (Chemistry & Industry, 30th July 2007) "This is a highly entertaining and well produced book that brought me a lot of pleasure and interest." (Chromatographia, August 2007)