DEEP SNIFF: A History of Poppers and Queer Futures

DEEP SNIFF: A History of Poppers and Queer Futures is the fascinating story of how poppers moved from the lab to gay bars, sex stores, bedrooms and porn movies.
In a mix of historical research and astute observation, Adam Zmith explores the cultural forces and unlikely connections behind the power of poppers.

What emerges is not just a story of muggings, viral panic and muscles.
It’s a collection of fresh and provocative ideas about identity, sex, utopia, capitalism, law, freedom and the bodies with which we experience the world.
What begins as a thoughtful examination of poppers, Deep Sniff becomes a manifesto for having fun with poppers.
A fascinating, enjoyable social and personal history of an underrated drug.
Zmith succeeds in capturing not only the fascinating history of poppers and their role in queer life, but also the pleasure associated with them.

“Absorbing, riotous, sharply researched and utterly celebratory, Deep Sniff is exactly the kind of queer story we need right now. Through the heady prism of poppers, Zmith explores the queer body with such curiosity and nuance – exposing how the quest for autonomous pleasure is truly political and ongoing.” – Richard Scott, author of Soho.

“Adam Zmith’s Deep Sniff is a fascinating insight into the history of an everyday but rarely considered part of gay male life in the late 20th and early 20th centuries. Poppers. Deep Sniff deftly blends history, personal experience, and cultural commentary and is a remarkable contribution to queer history.” – Hugh Ryan, author of When Brooklyn Was Queer.