Very interesting! ( )

a light and interesting look at what we do and how much we do not know about sleep ( )

I stumbled across this at the library and found it to be a fascinating and easy book to read. So little is known about sleep but this book shed some light on human sleep habits and recounts some interesting studies about how sleeping can impact warfare, sports and academics.

Worth reading! ( )

Very interesting! ( )

My first preference in science writing is to find a subject matter expert who is also a talented writer (such folks are few and far between). My next preference is a journalist who has some personal stake in the subject matter — in this case, a journalist who suffers from the parasomnia known as sleep walking. Dreamland is a general survey of what we know and don't know about sleep, interwoven with the kind of personal detail about researchers and patients (including the author) that makes a great story. The pace is quick and the book is short; I read the entire thing in a day. Randall doesn't spend a lot of time on each concept, but there's a bibliography if you're interested in more detail. Halfway into the first chapter I despaired that there weren't footnotes, but then I discovered the bibliography, and all was well :) ( )