Deep Sniff

A History of Poppers and Queer Futures

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Deep Sniff

By: Adam Zmith

Narrated by: Adam Zmith

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Three, two, one...inhale deeply. From the Victorian infirmary and the sex clubs of the 1970s, poppers' vapor has released the queer potential inside us all.

This is the intriguing story of how poppers wafted out of the lab and into gay bars, corner shops, bedrooms, and porn super cuts. Blending historical research with wry observation, Adam Zmith explores the cultural forces and improbable connections behind the power of poppers. What emerges is not just a history of pub raids, viral panics, and pecs the size of dinner plates, it is a collection of fresh and provocative ideas about identity, sex, utopia, capitalism, law, freedom, and the bodies that we use to experience the world.

In Deep Sniff, what starts as a thoughtful inquiry into poppers becomes a manifesto for pleasure.

Adam ZmithAdam ZmithWatkins Publishing

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This book is at its best when the author allows himself to explore and tell the fascinating history and reality of poppers. A history, a story of astonishing perserverence. Things get awry, when this story clashes with the reality of the authors apparently troubled gay soul, a gay soul still reeling from its unresolved trauma of growing up a gay male in a hostile environment. And therefore going enormous length in trying to cope with or escape this coming-of-age trauma by diving into the muddy and poisonous waters of current queer identity politics. If you can blend out this aspect of the book and forgive the anecdotal and often only popcultural informed establishing of ideas, you’ll still find an interesting dig into the fascinating universe that is the magic potion called poppers.

The intriguing history of poppers, dilluted with the muddy waters of queer identiy politics

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