Perfumes: The A-Z Guide [Paperback]

'I loved it and bought it for all my friends...very likely my favourite book of all time!'
--Joanne Harris - author of 'Chocolat'

`Instant classic...the first and only no-holds-barred assessment of what's behind the counters.' --Cosmetic News

`As scintillating as it is comprehensive... this pungent, entrancing book is a wake up call for the nostrils.' --The Independent

`Hugely engrossing...the writing is brilliant...gorgeous.' --Evening Standard

`The perfect gift for the scent addict in your life...witty and informative - and, occasionally, deliciously bitchy' --The Times

`Brilliant writing... I shall now spray on my favourite scents in quite a different frame of mind!' --Joanna Trollope

`Lyrical and acerbically witty compendium.' --The Times

`From riotous one-liners to elaborate reviews, fragrance experts Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez have written an authoritative guide to the best and worst scents.'
--Daily Express

`consistently entertaining... scathingly inventive bitchiness.' --Sunday Business Post

'I can't recommend it enough.' --Elle

'a staggeringly complete compilation of perfume reviews...ridiculously entertaining.' --Daily Mail

'dazzlingly comprehensive compendium...the writing is the olfactory equivalent of mouthwatering.' --Observer

'genuinely wonderful... the authors's sense of smell is amazing' --Daily Telegraph

'astonishingly brilliant and witty companion to all things fragrant.' --Spectator

'I was fascinated... a description of every perfume known to man, which sounds peculiar, but is mesmeric.' --Evening Standard Books of the year

`It's scents-sational!' --Rochelle Warner, Fabulous

`A wise investment and an addictive read.' --Gillian Nelis, Sunday Business Post

`Evocative and vivid... If you have a nose for a good book, buy this one.' --Anita Sethi, Independent on Sunday

`They're funny, bizarre, weird, hilarious writers.' --Alex Heminsley, BBC Radio 2 Claudia Winkleman

`Far more addictive than it has any right to be' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

`Quite simply, ravishingly entertaining'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Perfumes: The Guide is one of the best books I have ever read. It is dazzlingly good. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The must-have hardback has also been hailed as a masterpiece of criticism and invective. Over 400 new fragrances have been added to the original 1500 in this updated paperback.

Quite simply, ravishingly entertaining --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Forget everything you have read about [scent] and grab a copy of Perfumes ... a work as gripping as any thriller. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Endlessly browsable, partly because the writing is funny, partly because it's so extraordinarily illuminating ... this book is an essential possession. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

`[M]agnificent... compellingly poetic... a pioneering book packed with the promise of hours of pleasure... a cracking good read.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'I've long wished perfumery to be taken seriously as an art, and for scent critics to be as fierce as opera critics, and for the wearers of certain "fragrances" to be hissed in public, while others are cheered. This year has brought Perfumes: The Guide by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez, which I breathed in, rather than read, in one delighted gulp.' Hilary Mantel, Guardian Perfumes: The Guide is the culmination of Turin's lifelong obsession and rare scientific flair and Sanchez's stylish and devoted blogging about every scent that she's ever loved and loathed. Together they make a fine and utterly persuasive argument for the unrecognised craft of perfume-making. Perfume writing has certainly never been this honest, compelling or downright entertaining.

LUCA TURIN is the man who perfume-lovers openly adore. He's the author of The Secret of Scent (Faber, 2006). His top-rated perfume is Guerlain's Mitsouko. TANIA SANCHEZ is journalist and a perfume collector and expert from New York. Her personal perfume collection numbers almost 2000 bottles. They are married and divide their time between Boston and London.