Dreaming: A Very Short Introduction

J. Allan Hobson

Jun 2021 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Sean Crisden

About this audiobook

What is dreaming, and what causes it? Why are dreams so strange and why are they so hard to remember? Replacing dream mystique with modern dream science, J. Allan Hobson provides a new and increasingly complete picture of how dreaming is created by the brain. Focusing on dreaming to explain the mechanisms of sleep, this book explores how the new science of dreaming is affecting theories in psychoanalysis, and how it is helping our understanding of the causes of mental illness. J. Allan Hobson investigates his own dreams to illustrate and explain some of the fascinating discoveries of modern sleep science, while challenging some of the traditionally accepted theories about the meaning of dreams. He reveals how dreaming maintains and develops the mind, why we go crazy in our dreams in order to avoid doing so when we are awake, and why sleep is not just good for health but essential for life.

About the author

J. Allan Hobson is professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He was the recipient of the Distinguished Scientist Award of the Sleep Research Society in 1988. His major research interests are the neurophysiological basis of the mind and behavior; sleep and dreaming; and the history of neurology and psychiatry.

Sean Crisden is a multitalented actor and an AudioFile Earphones Award-winning narrator who has recorded audiobooks in almost every genre, from science fiction to romance. He has also voiced characters in numerous video games and appeared in many commercials and films, including The Last Airbender.