Dream: The Art and Science of Slumber

by Scott Carney

Why do so many of us have trouble falling asleep? Why do our thoughts spin in wild directions after dark? More why do we dream?

In this groundbreaking new book, investigative journalist and anthropologist Scott Carney sets out to discover how the sleeping world reverberates in the waking one. Unlock the power of the immune system at the same time you dig deeply into the source of creativity. Discover the evolutionary process that forges both memory and emotions.

Equal parts cutting edge neuroscience and ancient wisdom, this short and elegant book leads to the inescapable conclusion that we are what we dream.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Science, Audiobook

112 pages, Paperback

Published January 9, 2024

About the author

Scott Carney is an investigative journalist and anthropologist whose stories blend narrative non-fiction with ethnography. He has been a contributing editor at Wired and his work also appears in Mother Jones, Foreign Policy, Playboy, Details, Discover, Outside, and Fast Company. He regularly appears on variety of radio and television stations from NPR to National Geographic TV. In 2010 he won the Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism for the story “Meet the Parents” which tracked an international kidnapping-to-adoption ring . His first book, “The Red Market: On the Trail of the World’s Organ Brokers, Bone Thieves, Blood Farmers and Child Traffickers” was published by William Morrow in 2011 and won the 2012 Clarion Award for best non-fiction book. He first traveled to India while he was a student at Kenyon College in 1998 and over the course of several years inside and outside the classroom he learned Hindi. In 2004 he received a MA in anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. All told, he has spent more than half a decade in South Asia. He lives in Long Beach, CA.

Source: http://www.scottcarney.com/

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It inspired me to get more rest and embrace my dreams to a greater degree. I love Scott’s writing style; he has such a gift for disseminating interesting information in an easy to read way.

[Sam With Veggies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and interesting little read! Just wished it was longer!!!

[Silas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting bit of science and some yoga and more woo-type things. It looks at the dream state, and some ideas surrounding it. It isn't strictly scientific, which I actually kind of like about it, but it does look at things through a scientific lens even if the ideas themselves were not scientific to start with. The author has an interesting perspective, and although some of the ideas here are pretty out there, they are worth considering, at least to me. I honestly have no idea how I acquired this book. It appeared in my library, and I checked it out. I probably bought it, but can't remember having done so... and that sort of suits it.

[Alicia Zuto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t imagine anyone rating this book without giving it five stars. It’s an easy and enjoyable read that will stay with me forever. The author has a knack for building curiosity without leaving the readers on a cliffhanger. I’ve always been interested in the dream /Sleep mechanics but Carney taught me a lot I didn’t know. He gives us readers the tools to self experiment, providing exercises to dig deeper and see what we can learn from our own subconscious. He also provides information on how we can promote the choosing of our own subjects into our dreams to soothe, uplift, or embrace our health, and make sense of life while clearing our mind. I could relate to the mental chatter He experienced before bed and benefited from his advice on how to turn that off. With only 84 pages I was impressed with how much material was put into it. Carney doesn’t waste a word or a moment, which I appreciated. I honestly didn’t expect to get this much out of it, but I was immediately sleeping soundly and looking forward to my sleeps, or my closing my eyes during the day. when it comes to reading I may be slightly impressionable, but that does not mean I am not a tough critic on who I let brainwash me. Ha just kidding I really needed some positive inspiration to build more healthy habits instead of convincing myself that sleep was a waste of time. I feel much better than when I was pushing myself for sometimes more than 24 hours straight without a wink or an attempt at sleep. I wasn’t really able to function that well anyway, this is a good thing.

[Georgiacyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was fine, but there were no new revelations for me. The author seems very enthusiastic about the subject matter, and he stresses where he believes further research in this area could potentially lead. He is not a psychologist, a physician, or even apolysomnographic technologist. He is an investigative journalist and anthropologist. It is unlikely that he would ever been involved in any research in this field. It's just something that is/was interesting to him. The book does a good job of covering the basics of sleep and dreams from a lay person's perspective.

[David Petersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very short book and a quick read. The author discusses sleep and dreaming. I found it interesting but I didn't have any great takeaways. I know that I don't get enough sleep and love the idea of napping more. Channeling dreams for more creativity did sound interesting. Also the author discusses "sleep yoga" at the end of the book which seems like some sort of super power nap.

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was not what I thought it was going to be. And the last 30 minutes was just the narrator trying to "calm your mind". Well, that's not helpful when I am listening to this book in the middle of the day. And I'm sure not going to waste my time on trying to listen to it again right before bed. In my opinion, don't waste your time with this book.

[Rebel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information was interesting and potentially helpful, but the guided session welcomed the "third eye" into the meditation session. I wasn't comfortable inviting the third eye into my mind while in a defenseless state. Be on guard what influences you allow into your mind as you are entering the dream state. Informative, 3-stars.

[Angie Dokos · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. I don’t need help falling asleep but I could see where this book could help people that do. I was more interested in the dream topics.

[Hector Soto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read, it was good.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice book on sleep. I have read several books on sleep so there wasn’t a lot of information that was new to me. The best part for me was a good Yoga Nedra in chapter 6.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be about dreaming. It wasn't what I expected. It was about sleep phases, circadian rhythm and levels of consciousness, which was ok...but it wasn't dreaming.

[Rob McFarren · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting book on dreaming and how it relates to real life health and being. I liked it.