The Mind at Night: The New Science of How and Why We Dream

This book is one of the most interesting non-fiction books that I have read in the last few years. The subject matter (dreaming) is inherently interesting, but some of the science is complicated and theoretical. On some level, Ms. Rock has to assist the reader in understanding various parts of the brain (limbic, brain stem, pre-fontal lobe, etc.) as well as psychology (Freud and others). Much of the research that she is using is very recent, so many open issues remain. Despite these hurdles, she makes the book understandable to an interested layperson without dumbing it down too much. I particularly enjoyed the way that she presented one approach to the study of dreams per chapter. Each chapter builds and explains the previous ones, as the research becomes more and more recent. Ms. Rock also introduces the reader to the personalities behind these cutting-edge scientists. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to better understand the dream stage (as well as consciousness generally). It is not, however, a self-help book. Other than a few tips on lucid dreaming, it is a 'why' and 'what' book, not a 'how' book.

The book is exactly what its title says it is. History and facts from sleep research and related fields brought together, elaborated and articulated in the language comprehensible to educated layman. I didn't find the book dry at all, it was hard to put down, quite accessible and fascinating.

Students of psychology interested in the latest findings on dreaming will find The Mind At Night: The New Science Of How And Why We Dream by Andrea Rock provides a blend of all the latest research from neuroscience to psychology. Andrea history of dream research begins in the 1950s and moves to present-day, tracing the discoveries, major theories, and new dream reports from research labs.

What is the brain's true mission at night? Andrea Rock chronicles the astoundingly varied research by scientists in labs around the world who--aided by by new technologies that enable us to actually see the brain at work--have discovered undreamed of reasons for the mind to carry out its nightly visual odyssey. Along the way, you'll learn about the unusual sleep pattern of dolphins (only one hemisphere of their brain sleeps at a time); why the functional anatomy of dreaming is almost identical to that of schizophrenic psychosis; how dreaming may serve as a kind of internal therapist, helping us to integrate the emotional experiences from the day; and why that pecuiliar egg-laying mammal known as the spiny anteater may be the key to knowing when the world's first dream could have appeared.The Mind at Night is itself a dream of a book--its vast research woven into an elegant and quite thrilling narrative of scientists in pursuit of their Holy Grail: an understanding not only of dreams, but of the very nature of consciousness itself.

This book is incredible. I couldn't put it down because I couldn't wait to find out what would be revealed in the coming pages. It's one of those books like "Chaos" or "Guns, Germs and Steel" that changes how you look at the world. What you discover about about how the brain works is amazing. For the first time, I sent an email out to a bunch of friends recommending a book. I did so because I thought so many of them would find it fascinating. On a sentence, paragraph and idea basis, it just flows. It's so alive , so easy to read, and SO INTERESTING.