She indulges a massive vocabulary, a keen perception of sensory detail, and a love of the well-turned phrase. Her descriptions are precise and her reasoning well grounded, but her tone borders on gushy. 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 writing is characterized by persistent specificity, richly detailed, and intelligent enthusiasm. Although I get the feeling she may be a trained scientist, she writes with an apparent command of all of these frameworks. Ackerman looks at it historically, mythologically, psychologically, biologically, anthropologically, and spiritually. In this case, the topic of the class is love. One that makes connections, bringing together various disciplines and perspectives. It's like a really good class, one that is enlightening, eye-opening, thought-provoking. I don't mean that in a bad way, like drudgery. Reading Diana Ackerman is like taking a class.
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