This book stems from the premise that humans woefully neglect their powers of smell and taste, and thereby miss out on a whole range of pleasurable experiences. The author argues that the "smell brain", an organ with an earlier evolutionary history than the more complex intelligent brain, was designed both to recognize and to send out "markers", taste and smell signals which, for example, direct the animal towards useful food plants. Max Lake explains how to revive and use to the full these neglected powers, first through a better understanding of human responses and second through a raised consciousness achieved through comparative tastings of wines and foods, and a heightened response to smells. The author has written several books on wine and a series of booklets called "Start to Taste".