Each year Americans spend billions of dollars on their noses. From over-the-counter sinus remedies to cosmetic surgery, aromatherapy to Chanel no. 5, we are a nation immersed in all things nasal. But how did this one vital organ become an object of beauty, a status symbol, the basis for judging character? What led to the invention of cotton tissues? Why do we follow our noses when seeking a mate -- or choosing a president?

The Nose is a fascinating tour of its subject through history and biology, art and culture, sex and sensibility, sickness and health. Gabrielle Glaser breathes life into her research by offering engaging anecdotes and personal interviews with physicians and their patients; members of the FDA and the Fragrance Foundation; a rabbi who contemplates the nose in sacred Jewish texts; and a plastic surgeon who finally puts his own proboscis under the knife. Sure to awaken the senses of anyone who has pondered, probed, concealed, or cosmetically altered their noses, this book proves that there?s more to the nose than meets the eye.