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 made their way from the laboratory to gay bars, sex shops, bedrooms, and porn films. In a blend of historical research and sharp observation, Adam Zmith explores the cultural forces and unlikely connections behind the power of poppers.

The result is not just a story of raids, viral panic, and muscles. It is 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 investigation into poppers becomes, in Deep Sniff, a manifesto for the pleasure of poppers. A fascinating and enjoyable social and personal history of an underrated drug, Zmith succeeds in capturing not only the captivating history of poppers and their role in queer life but also the pleasure associated with them.

“Absorbing, rowdy, thoroughly researched, and profoundly celebratory, Deep Sniff is exactly the kind of queer history we need right now. Through the intoxicating prism of poppers, Zmith explores the queer body with such curiosity and nuance – and reveals how much 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 a commonplace yet rarely examined part of gay male life in the late 20th and early 21st centuries: poppers. Deep Sniff skillfully blends history, personal experiences, and cultural commentary, making it a remarkable contribution to queer history.” – Hugh Ryan, author of When Brooklyn Was Queer.