Night: An Exploration of Night Life, Night Language, Sleep and Dreams

As children, most of us are scared of the dark. Although we may put that fear behind us, it remains nonetheless buried deep in places where we prefer not to look. It is a terror-as old as the human race-that survives in spite of the magic of electricity, which disguises but can never erase the differences between night and day.

Alvarez combines detailed personal reminiscence, candid self-appraisal, close scientific observation, literary scholarship, & natural description to produce a most enlightening & enjoyable rumination on the subject of darkness, dreams, & night-dwellers animal & human, hallucinatory & real. This is a meditation or rumination on the dark, elegantly written & packed with out-of-the-way information. Chapters: the dark at the top of the stairs; the sleep laboratory; dreaming; the interpretation of dreams; a note on chaos theory; hypnagogic hallucinations; & the Brownies; Surrealism; keeping the peace; & night owls. Illustrated.