Dreams

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30064, 23 February 1963, Page 3

Dreams

The Science of Dreams by Edwin Diamond. Eyre & Spottiswoode. 243 pp.

It is a pity that the jacket of this book should be so misleading, for, from the colourful kaleidoscope pattern on the front, and the series of apparently definite answers to set questions on the back, one tends to expect inside, the . all too common, popular, cliches about dreams and dreamers. Instead, one finds a sober, reasoned account of most of the serious work and research which has taken place over the last century.

Freud of course, appears, but is not unduly emphasised. His claims are given no more stress than those of Jung, Kinsey or, for that matter, the Iroquois Indians and the Roman Catholic - church. The author has given a sincere and detailed appraisal of the history of dreaming, and mankind’s reactions to, and beliefs about dreams Dream content is fully dealt with in a factual manner with reference to the work of anthropologists and sociologists among the primitive and civilised people of the world. And the modern neurological studies of Penfield, and Hebb’s work on sensory deprivation serve to complete the coverage of dream study from all angles.