Landscapes of the night: How and why we dream

by Christopher Riche Evans

Describes what happens in the brain during periods of dreaming and expounds a new theory of how and why human beings dream

254 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Dr Christopher Riche Evans (29 May 1931 – 10 October 1979) was a British psychologist, computer scientist, and author.

Born in Aberdovey, he spent his childhood in Wales and was educated at Christ College, Brecon (1941–49). He spent two years in the RAF (1950–52),and worked as a science journalist and writer until 1957 when he began a B.A. course in Psychology at University College, London, graduating with honors in 1960.

After a summer fellowship at Duke University, where he first met his future American wife, Nancy Fullmer, he took up a Research Assistant post in the Physics Laboratory, University of Reading, working on eye movements under Professor R.W. Ditchburn. Upon receiving his PhD (the title of his thesis was “Pattern Perception and the Stabilised Retinal Image”), he went to the Division of Computer Science, National Physical Laboratory, Teddington in 1964, where he remained until his death of cancer in 1979. Survived by his wife and two children Christopher Samuel Evans and Victoria Evans-Theiler.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been in my library since it was published. I just reread it and found that it has generally aged well - especially the first part about the science of sleep and dreaming, which is still my favorite history of the subject. The second part, likening sleep and dreaming to computer processes, still has some relevance but is dated by the advances in technology since that time. The takeaway - that we really don’t know an awful lot about something that occupies a third of our lives, makes us ridiculously vulnerable, and without which we get sick and die - has not changed in all the intervening years.

[em petlev · Rating 5 out of 5]

i did not anticipate to be as intrigued as i was by the computer theory but it turned out to be more about processing than technology which was a welcome surprise. evans is so endearing, clearly taking measures to make the text accessible. a fitting and cozy book to read before bed