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Una Historia Natural del Amor
Tras el sonado éxito de Una historia natural de los sentidos, D. Ackerman ha usado su personalísimo talento para explorar el mayor de los el escurridizo, eterno y siempre interesante asunto del amor. Ackerman bebe de gran variedad de fuentes, tanto clásicas como de su experiencia inmediata. Explora e ilumina las r
420 pages, Paperback
First published February 21, 1994
140 people are currently reading
2746 people want to read
About the author
Diane Ackerman
71 books1,106 followersDiane Ackerman has been the finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction in addition to many other awards and recognitions for her work, which include the bestsellers The Zookeeper’s Wife and A Natural History of the Senses.
The Zookeeper’s Wife, a little known true story of WWII, became a New York Times bestseller, and received the Orion Book Award, which honored it as, "a groundbreaking work of nonfiction." A movie of The Zookeeper’s Wife, starring Jessica Chastain and Daniel Brühl, releases in theaters March 31st, 2017 from Focus Features.
She lives with her husband Paul West in Ithaca, New York.
The Zookeeper’s Wife, a little known true story of WWII, became a New York Times bestseller, and received the Orion Book Award, which honored it as, "a groundbreaking work of nonfiction." A movie of The Zookeeper’s Wife, starring Jessica Chastain and Daniel Brühl, releases in theaters March 31st, 2017 from Focus Features.
She lives with her husband Paul West in Ithaca, New York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
February 2, 2012
I decided to write my very first review for this book but GoodReads decided that it would be a fabulous idea to no longer function after I clicked the "submit" button. Thanks, GoodReads.
Maybe it's a sign that I'm really awful at writing reviews and should just stick to rating books while brooding in my dark, quiet corner of the world.
Alas, I'll leave you with this:
Love feeds a million watchfires in the encampment of the body
Love it or leave it.
Maybe it's a sign that I'm really awful at writing reviews and should just stick to rating books while brooding in my dark, quiet corner of the world.
Alas, I'll leave you with this:
Love feeds a million watchfires in the encampment of the body
Love it or leave it.
January 9, 2024
I couldn't drag myself through the rest of this book. I got about 75% through it, and that was only by skimming. The writing is florid and overwrought, with only the faintest sprinkling of "history" spread so far and few amongst the pages that the only reason I kept turning them was in an attempt to find something interesting.
I think I would have known to stay away if the title was more accurate- like, "A History of Stuff Diane Ackerman Rambles on About Like A Well-Spoken Stoner."
I think I would have known to stay away if the title was more accurate- like, "A History of Stuff Diane Ackerman Rambles on About Like A Well-Spoken Stoner."
February 9, 2016
I loved this book when I found it in a local used book store.
I was obsessed and read ravenously through the first couple of sections.
-A Long Desire: The History of Love
-The Heart is a Lonely Heart: Ideas About Love
-All Fires the Fire: The Nature of Love
Because I'm one of those scatter-brained readers, I paused there. Months later, I picked it back up and felt disappointed once I got to the section A Necessary Passion: The Erotics of Love...
Diane's prose is wordy, lovely, and sensational. When she talked about history, philosophy, and science... I thought it was fun. But when she started talking about "Women and Horses" she lost me. The book started to read like rambling, as if she's trying to answer the question "How much can I milk ideas about love with anything sensational or provocative?" I lost interest and put the book down, maybe I'll pick it up again another day when I'm in the mood for something weird. But I'm usually too sober for the last 100 pages.
I was obsessed and read ravenously through the first couple of sections.
-A Long Desire: The History of Love
-The Heart is a Lonely Heart: Ideas About Love
-All Fires the Fire: The Nature of Love
Because I'm one of those scatter-brained readers, I paused there. Months later, I picked it back up and felt disappointed once I got to the section A Necessary Passion: The Erotics of Love...
Diane's prose is wordy, lovely, and sensational. When she talked about history, philosophy, and science... I thought it was fun. But when she started talking about "Women and Horses" she lost me. The book started to read like rambling, as if she's trying to answer the question "How much can I milk ideas about love with anything sensational or provocative?" I lost interest and put the book down, maybe I'll pick it up again another day when I'm in the mood for something weird. But I'm usually too sober for the last 100 pages.
April 2, 2008
Love seems the perfect topic for a writer like Diane Ackerman to tackle -- her writing is frilly, juicy, bursting with enthusiasm for her subject. Best so far is her explanation of the knight's role with his lady: lingering in the deliciousness of physical desire, playing peek-a-boo with certain body parts, titillating but rarely touching -- all in the name of adding a spice to the Lady's eroticless marriage and elevating the knight's virtue! Yum! If I smoked, I'd need a cigarette after reading that.
Ackerman's writing may work for some but not others, the way Ben and Jerry's just gets way out there with it's flavors. But for all its literary fixin's, her work is nevertheless inventive and entertaining.
Ackerman's writing may work for some but not others, the way Ben and Jerry's just gets way out there with it's flavors. But for all its literary fixin's, her work is nevertheless inventive and entertaining.
February 6, 2016
There was a sad lack of representation of non-heternormative romantic relationships in this book, and some of the ideas about gender and how it fits in society are quite outdated. Those are the only qualms I have with this book, though. Otherwise, it's a very good, informative book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I can forgive the book it's faults since it was written in the early nineties and things have changed a bit since then.
February 11, 2017
Reading Diana Ackerman is like taking a class. I don't mean that in a bad way, like drudgery. It's like a really good class, one that is enlightening, eye-opening, thought-provoking. One that makes connections, bringing together various disciplines and perspectives.
In this case, the topic of the class is love. Ackerman looks at it historically, mythologically, psychologically, biologically, anthropologically, and spiritually. Although I get the feeling she may be a trained scientist, she writes with an apparent command of all of these frameworks. Her writing is characterized by persistent specificity, richly detailed, and intelligent enthusiasm. She approaches all aspects of her subject, from the etymology of the nastiest word in English to the ecstacies of medieval saints, with candor and enthusiasm. Her descriptions are precise and her reasoning well grounded, but her tone borders on gushy. She indulges a massive vocabulary, a keen perception of sensory detail, and a love of the well-turned phrase.
Not that I have no complaints. At times, I thought Ackerman overgeneralized about men and women or overemphasized the pervasivness of sexuality (granted, that is tough to do, but it is possible). At times, her word choices struck me as somewhat insensitive. While describing the work of Interplast surgeons in Honduras, she used the phrase "gross deformities," for example, and I don't think I'm being oversensitive to wince a little at that phrase. And while I enjoy her full-throttle approach to writing--her obvious relish for words and images--there are times when it just feels like she is showing off. Some readers might find themselves rolling their eyes quite a bit, but I can't say that I did much of that.
But notice that these complaints only lost the author one star. That's because they are far outweighed by the overall brilliance of this book. Read it and you will have a better understanding of Shakespeare, Freud, Darwin, and Plato. You will learn about marriage customs, the Indianapolis 500, aphrodisiacs, and "fashionable" perversion. You will ponder questions such as why adultery is so common, why people find babies (and pets) adorable, why it's so common for patients to fall in love with their therapists, where the idea of chivalry came from. You will revisit many (most?) of the greatest love stories in the world and see them processed in a literary blender with recent developments in brain chemistry.
"A Natural History of Love" is simply a feast, both fortifying and delectable. It moves Diane Ackerman into my short list of favorite nonfiction writers (with Annie Dillard, Bill Bryson, Barbara Kingsolver, and Simon Winchester). Next up for me is a novel called "The History of Love" (Nicole Krauss). Totally unrelated? Perhaps. But given Ackerman's breadth, I doubt it. Besides, isn't it true that the more we read, the more we find connections among our readings?
In this case, the topic of the class is love. Ackerman looks at it historically, mythologically, psychologically, biologically, anthropologically, and spiritually. Although I get the feeling she may be a trained scientist, she writes with an apparent command of all of these frameworks. Her writing is characterized by persistent specificity, richly detailed, and intelligent enthusiasm. She approaches all aspects of her subject, from the etymology of the nastiest word in English to the ecstacies of medieval saints, with candor and enthusiasm. Her descriptions are precise and her reasoning well grounded, but her tone borders on gushy. She indulges a massive vocabulary, a keen perception of sensory detail, and a love of the well-turned phrase.
Not that I have no complaints. At times, I thought Ackerman overgeneralized about men and women or overemphasized the pervasivness of sexuality (granted, that is tough to do, but it is possible). At times, her word choices struck me as somewhat insensitive. While describing the work of Interplast surgeons in Honduras, she used the phrase "gross deformities," for example, and I don't think I'm being oversensitive to wince a little at that phrase. And while I enjoy her full-throttle approach to writing--her obvious relish for words and images--there are times when it just feels like she is showing off. Some readers might find themselves rolling their eyes quite a bit, but I can't say that I did much of that.
But notice that these complaints only lost the author one star. That's because they are far outweighed by the overall brilliance of this book. Read it and you will have a better understanding of Shakespeare, Freud, Darwin, and Plato. You will learn about marriage customs, the Indianapolis 500, aphrodisiacs, and "fashionable" perversion. You will ponder questions such as why adultery is so common, why people find babies (and pets) adorable, why it's so common for patients to fall in love with their therapists, where the idea of chivalry came from. You will revisit many (most?) of the greatest love stories in the world and see them processed in a literary blender with recent developments in brain chemistry.
"A Natural History of Love" is simply a feast, both fortifying and delectable. It moves Diane Ackerman into my short list of favorite nonfiction writers (with Annie Dillard, Bill Bryson, Barbara Kingsolver, and Simon Winchester). Next up for me is a novel called "The History of Love" (Nicole Krauss). Totally unrelated? Perhaps. But given Ackerman's breadth, I doubt it. Besides, isn't it true that the more we read, the more we find connections among our readings?
November 25, 2012
Partially my own fault for not liking it, I was really hoping for an actual history book. Too little scholarship, too much of the author's musings on love. Then again, that's my taste - it might be great for others. Has some well written passages.
June 15, 2022
most of this is undermined and distracted by super problematic ideas about gender and race
November 29, 2024
FINALLY finished this book. it’s just not that good! the first two sections i thought were excellent, especially the first, but then we got into some wide claims about evolution thay didn’t seem to be backed up by a lot of science and the typical gender essentialism which i expected but is annoying. i think ackerman is a good writer and has some really interesting experiences but the organization of this book just kind of fell apart and i found the conclusion not that good
May 15, 2015
This book has a lot of really interesting content. The skirt-chasing habits of Benjamin Franklin in France, the hilariously naîve modern marriage traditions (such as the fact that groomsmen were first introduced to the marriage event during kidnap-weddings to prevent the bride's angry family from rescuing her before the deed was done), the prevalence of open(-esque) relationships throughout history, and even a little neurochemistry.
The author is savvy enough to frequently jump out of certain existing norms (widely thought to be 'innate') and examine them from the outside. For example, that the idea of romantic love didn't even exist in Western culture until relatively recently, and her treatment of that development through the dark ages and renaissance is plausible and interesting.
However, she then fails to catch herself making massive present- and western-centric assumptions about 'innate' qualities of men and women, and then asserts these ideas in a self-assured way that makes me doubt her confidence on other important topics in the text.
For example, she frequently pulls cards from sexual conflict theory which are in the process of being heavily nerfed by recent findings in evolutionary psychology, and even goes so far as to make claims like "...And this is why men never ask for directions but women usually do." (Really? Do men really not ask for directions when they're lost? Or is that a relatively modern, western tendency that's been made into a meme to drive comedy or sales of "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus"-style books?)
Moving on, this author does have quite the knack for poetic beauty, as many of the passages are extremely descriptive. Though a few meander a bit much for my taste.
Overall, an interesting read with lots of great content and a thought-provoking (though imperfect) model of the phenomenon that drives a wild range of human behavior.
The author is savvy enough to frequently jump out of certain existing norms (widely thought to be 'innate') and examine them from the outside. For example, that the idea of romantic love didn't even exist in Western culture until relatively recently, and her treatment of that development through the dark ages and renaissance is plausible and interesting.
However, she then fails to catch herself making massive present- and western-centric assumptions about 'innate' qualities of men and women, and then asserts these ideas in a self-assured way that makes me doubt her confidence on other important topics in the text.
For example, she frequently pulls cards from sexual conflict theory which are in the process of being heavily nerfed by recent findings in evolutionary psychology, and even goes so far as to make claims like "...And this is why men never ask for directions but women usually do." (Really? Do men really not ask for directions when they're lost? Or is that a relatively modern, western tendency that's been made into a meme to drive comedy or sales of "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus"-style books?)
Moving on, this author does have quite the knack for poetic beauty, as many of the passages are extremely descriptive. Though a few meander a bit much for my taste.
Overall, an interesting read with lots of great content and a thought-provoking (though imperfect) model of the phenomenon that drives a wild range of human behavior.
September 10, 2016
A favorite-- This is poetry and science dancing together.
Ackerman’s words paint pictures in your mind as you read them, and always seem to present complex information with surprising ease. She has written a plethora of poetry as well as a broad spectrum of non-fiction, books that always seem to master the art of quality, entertaining writing about subjects in natural science without making them seem like science at all. With her poet’s ear for sentences and a teaching tone, she brings science to the pleasure readers.
In a Natural History of Love, she leads the reader through the science of love without diminishing love to mere science—quite the feat. The book is anecdotes and research, poetry and history, facts and feelings. She must have read hundreds of books to bring us the most interesting and essential on this complex topic: what, how, and why we love. What love is and what it is not, how humanity has experienced it, why it drives us so. Normally I am quickly turned off by science, but this book fascinated me (all the while covertly educating) and got me completely addicted to Ackerman’s writing.
Ackerman’s words paint pictures in your mind as you read them, and always seem to present complex information with surprising ease. She has written a plethora of poetry as well as a broad spectrum of non-fiction, books that always seem to master the art of quality, entertaining writing about subjects in natural science without making them seem like science at all. With her poet’s ear for sentences and a teaching tone, she brings science to the pleasure readers.
In a Natural History of Love, she leads the reader through the science of love without diminishing love to mere science—quite the feat. The book is anecdotes and research, poetry and history, facts and feelings. She must have read hundreds of books to bring us the most interesting and essential on this complex topic: what, how, and why we love. What love is and what it is not, how humanity has experienced it, why it drives us so. Normally I am quickly turned off by science, but this book fascinated me (all the while covertly educating) and got me completely addicted to Ackerman’s writing.
October 3, 2007
An interesting, quick-moving study of the biological, evolutionary, and anthropological ramifications of the fact that humans are (or at least are now) hard-wired to love each other.
Ackerman does a good job of steering clear of anything that smacks of sappy romance or warm fuzzy reassurance that "everything will be OK because we're all programmed for love. Let's everyone get stoned and fuck." If one is going to take a serious look at the vague concept of love as a biological function (and claim that it's a semi-scientific exploration, rather than a self-congratulatory cleansing ritual), it better be an unemotional discussion. Which this is, for the most part.
A nice early summer read, notwithstanding the near constant reminders that some humans are considerably more active in this regard than others.
Ackerman does a good job of steering clear of anything that smacks of sappy romance or warm fuzzy reassurance that "everything will be OK because we're all programmed for love. Let's everyone get stoned and fuck." If one is going to take a serious look at the vague concept of love as a biological function (and claim that it's a semi-scientific exploration, rather than a self-congratulatory cleansing ritual), it better be an unemotional discussion. Which this is, for the most part.
A nice early summer read, notwithstanding the near constant reminders that some humans are considerably more active in this regard than others.
February 5, 2015
This is the 4th or 5th book I haw read by Ms. Ackerman and I can't speak highly enough of her ability to invoke all of the senses in her reader. Her writing is so smooth and intelligent. I have to admit this topic (love) isn't one I would normally read about. I tend to enjoy non-fiction, scientific writing (which she has a few books in this realm). However, there is an underlying sensuality in all of her writing. So I figured if anyone could write about "love" and keep me from feeling like I was reading a $2.00, Fabio on the from cover, erotic novel, it would be her. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It gives a great linear history about love and the way it has changed in social context. She also delves just a bit into the neurophysiology of love (which is my area of interest). I would highly recommend this to anyone, as it has the ability to appeal to a wife range of readers.
April 9, 2008
I was alternately bored to tears and completely fascinated by this book. And it took me forever to read. But in the end, it was a highly enlightening endeavor.
Explaining love in terms of evolutionary imperatives and chemical reactions isn't exactly romantic, but makes so much sense. I was disappointed, though, that while Ackerman touched on many of the "hows" and "whys" of love, one lingering question was not answered: Why are we attracted to one person over another? What exactly sets those chemical reactions off?
And finally, a note for parents: Ackerman not only explains romantic love, but also gives insight to parental love and the kind of love a child needs to thrive.
Explaining love in terms of evolutionary imperatives and chemical reactions isn't exactly romantic, but makes so much sense. I was disappointed, though, that while Ackerman touched on many of the "hows" and "whys" of love, one lingering question was not answered: Why are we attracted to one person over another? What exactly sets those chemical reactions off?
And finally, a note for parents: Ackerman not only explains romantic love, but also gives insight to parental love and the kind of love a child needs to thrive.
Want to read
August 25, 2009"Love makes mania respectable."
"I did not mean to be diverted from my path by pleasure; I couldn't help myself. In the same way, love distracts one from the tidiest plans, the narrowest course, the clearest goals."
"Wouldn't it make more sense to believe that when love brings two people together they are a community of two, not a compound of one?"
"The loves of two people in love with each other are seldom the same."
"Fear, too, is crucial to love. Certainty, familiarity, complacency- they all lead to pleasant relatioships of companionship and goodwill, but not the feverish adventure of being in love."
"I did not mean to be diverted from my path by pleasure; I couldn't help myself. In the same way, love distracts one from the tidiest plans, the narrowest course, the clearest goals."
"Wouldn't it make more sense to believe that when love brings two people together they are a community of two, not a compound of one?"
"The loves of two people in love with each other are seldom the same."
"Fear, too, is crucial to love. Certainty, familiarity, complacency- they all lead to pleasant relatioships of companionship and goodwill, but not the feverish adventure of being in love."
December 19, 2009
I picked up this book from my shelf-- apparently I have already read it... but I have no memory of it! From rereading the first couple of chapters, though, I'm not sure I'd give it as many as 3 stars. She seems to proceed without first defining what she means by "love." Is it a feeling? Is it hormones? An emotional state? Is it something you DO? A close reader (or someone who has read a whole lot about "love") will notice that she uncritically bounces around between different conceptions of love, so her narrative of any particular concept is broken as she continues through more recent time periods.
Maybe I'll keep reading... maybe I won't.
Maybe I'll keep reading... maybe I won't.
Read
September 17, 2008While there are a few very interesting facts regarding love, sex, and history, Ackerman's metaphors border on the ridiculously cheesy. Several times in the course of reading, I found myself rolling my eyes and yelling, "oh my gawdddd!!!! are you (expletive deleted) serious?!" I would post a few examples if I were in the mood to wince and cringe, but I just ate.
*ALSO, I am thoroughly perplexed by the use of such antiquated terms as "discos" (as a plural noun) in a contemporary context. In a book published in 1995. Yes, the discos on this street are the grooviest. Lets blow this popsicle stand.
?
*ALSO, I am thoroughly perplexed by the use of such antiquated terms as "discos" (as a plural noun) in a contemporary context. In a book published in 1995. Yes, the discos on this street are the grooviest. Lets blow this popsicle stand.
?
November 30, 2014
A lot of the cultural criticism in this book is dated, which is unfortunate, because Ackerman is a beautiful writer, and when you get to a section that is less reliant on old information, her prose really sings. I particularly enjoyed the section on great thinkers on love, especially Proust and Freud. The book also suffers from some incredibly gender essentialist themes*, and pretty heteronormative.
*I kind of loved when she talked about the horses as the universal symbol for female sexuality and the Indy 500 for male sexuality. I don't agree with you but the pictures you paint are vivid and fascinating?
*I kind of loved when she talked about the horses as the universal symbol for female sexuality and the Indy 500 for male sexuality. I don't agree with you but the pictures you paint are vivid and fascinating?
April 24, 2013
I expected to learn more reading this book. Early on the book, she uses the story of Orpheus and Eurydice as an example of desire. At the end of the section, she has a riff on what the myth could mean. It didn't ring true to me, it was if she left out something essential. It made me read the rest of the book with an awareness that I was questioning her interpretations. I kept thinking: If I didn't get much out of or even agree with her interpretation of a story I know well, how could I trust her point of view on stories I did not know at all? I found the book less memorable than most of what I read.
July 13, 2007
I find that when reading this book and "Natural History of the Senses" back-to-back, this one suffers in comparison. But after re-reading this on its own, I find it to be as brilliant--at certain parts she's on the edge of sappiness--but I guess when the subject is love, it takes a lot of talent to not get sappy and melodramatic. Any writer deciding to take on this tricky subject ought to have a strong stomach and get ready for the brick-bats. On the second reading, I noticed that the book starts with the word "love" and ends with "loved." Is that corny? Not to me.
July 27, 2007
Diane Ackerman covers the history of love from Egypt through the present, examining the origins of rituals like marriage and where love comes from. It's a pretty ambitious topic, but the delicious details in the book--like that giving a "toast" comes from medieval times when people would put actual bread in the glass and drink until the liquid was gone--make it a fascinating and extremely educational read. If you need cool facts to spout at a cocktail party or are just a hopeful romantic, this book is worth reading.
Read
November 9, 2011A LOVEly (!) read! A Natural History of the Senses is one of my all-time favorite books and while this one wasn't quite as delicious (!), it was a pleasure and fascinating to read. And yes, one of the things I learned was that the word "fascinating" comes from the Greek (I think) word for "penis" and I think of that every single time I say or write the word "fascinating" ~ which is, as it turns out, a lot.
January 5, 2025
diane ackerman takes on the subject of love, much as she has taken on other subjects as an author of creative non-fiction over the years, and explores the history, physiology and mythologies of this romantic subject. as always, ackerman proves that the world of nonfiction need not be non-literate or staid, as her writing carries a certain lyrical quality and poetic sensibility i always enjoy. this was not my favourite of her books, and
September 21, 2007
I read about half of it. It was mildly entertaining, but presented absolutely no thesis. It was just a random compilation of uncorrelated anecdotes about love or something tangentially related to love. It wasn't terrible or anything, just didn't have enough glue to will me to continue reading. The book was due and it wasn't really worth the renewal.
January 22, 2008
There are many fascinating little facts and stories in this book. The first part of the book (the history of love) is the strongest and the most full of information that I enjoyed. Later on I feel like Ackerman is reaching a little to flesh out her content. But I enjoy her writing style and subject matters, so all in all a good read.
November 7, 2017
So far, very interesting! Amazing to discover how "new" the concept of having love within a marriage actually is. Also, she's doing a lovely job of taking the reader through the various cultures and time and how the role of women has changed, evolved, fallen down, got back up, etc. And I've only just begun! LOVE Diane Ackerman's writing!
June 5, 2009
When I first saw the title of Nicole Krauss' The History of Love, I got rilly excited, because I thought it'd be a deconstruction of the trope. Imagine my disappointment when I realized it was a love...story.
Bleh.
I fink this is the text that I was looking for...but we shall see.
...
And, no.
Vomit.
Bleh.
I fink this is the text that I was looking for...but we shall see.
...
And, no.
Vomit.
April 27, 2010
This book was actually brutal to read...while I found the first third mildly entertaining the rest was difficult and I often found my mind wandering. To be sure, love and the idea of being "in love" is a difficult concept to tackle and I truly wanted to learn something new. I did, but it was a painful read that was about 150 pages too long...
December 10, 2017
History part fascinating.
Psychology part interesting and thought-provoking.
Last third was hard to read.
Extremely heterosexual and very close-minded about sex. Definitely more of a conservative author, but she does keep relatively neutral in the history and psychology sections, which was appreciated.
Psychology part interesting and thought-provoking.
Last third was hard to read.
Extremely heterosexual and very close-minded about sex. Definitely more of a conservative author, but she does keep relatively neutral in the history and psychology sections, which was appreciated.
September 26, 2016
A thoughtful, thorough, and at times meandering look at the history of how people have thought and talked about love through the ages. Personally I preferred the historical and etymological asides to the descriptions of personal experiences, which ranged from the slightly silly (an inside description of the stereotypical love of horses by women) to the sadly sentimental.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews