An engrossing examination of the science behind the little-known world of sleep. Like many of us, journalist David K. Randall never gave sleep much thought. That is, until he began sleepwalking. One midnight crash into a hallway wall sent him on an investigation into the strange science of sleep. In Dreamland , Randall explores the research that is investigating those dark hours that make up nearly a third of our lives. Taking readers from military battlefields to children’s bedrooms, Dreamland shows that sleep isn't as simple as it seems. Why did the results of one sleep study change the bookmakers’ odds for certain Monday Night Football games? Do women sleep differently than men? And if you happen to kill someone while you are sleepwalking, does that count as murder? This book is a tour of the often odd, sometimes disturbing, and always fascinating things that go on in the peculiar world of sleep. You’ll never look at your pillow the same way again. 10 illustrations Amazon Best Books of the Month, August 2012 : Forget about outer space and deep-ocean trenches. There are scientific mysteries far closer to home. In our bedrooms each night, something odd happens--we try to fall asleep. No one knows exactly why. What happens if we don't sleep? Do men sleep differently than women? Why is it so hard to put children to sleep? And if Freud was wrong about dreams, then why do we dream? In Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep , David K. Randall answers these questions and more. He takes us through the history of human thinking about sleep, all the way up to the latest rest techniques used by Olympic athletes. You'll sleep better having read this book. -- Benjamin Moebius "Starred review. This fabulous book is likely to address any and all questions you might have about sleep.... There’s plenty of practical information, like how to overcome insomnia without drugs, how to combat snoring, how to encourage young children to get to sleep and, perhaps most useful, how to bet successfully on professional football games: our circadian rhythms favor West Coast teams over East Coast teams on Monday nights. This is one book that will not put you to sleep." ― Publishers Weekly "...Randall emphasizes the too-often neglected common-sense realization that sleep is no void; rather, it is perhaps one-third of the puzzle to living well. The author also notes that sleep is not an undifferentiated continuum; the most restful sleep arrives in five stages of about 90 minutes each. A welcome study of an element of life that is often "forgotten, overlooked, and postponed."" ― Kirkus Reviews "Though he doesn’t go into minute detail, Randall provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to a mystifying but necessary part of life." ― Booklist "An accessible and well-researched guide to a fascinating subject." ― New Scientist "A lively overview of recent research into sleep. " ― Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air "Like other Israeli novelists of his era, Hoffmann faces the challenge of voicing the unspeakable. He has a Mozartean sense of the emotional interplay of light and shadow, and in his close stitchery of everyday life and mythical experience, his many-colored Joseph's dreamcoat is seamless." ― Boston Globe "The most diverting and consistently fascinating book on the topic ever... but you couldn’t find a more charming guide to what we do know than Dreamland ." ― Laura Miller, Salon.com "Randall has done a lot of good reporting, writes clearly and makes even the scientific aspects of his subject easily accessible... The result is an enjoyable, edifying book that goes down easy... The one thing Dreamland will not do―sorry, insomniacs―is put you to sleep. The topic and the treatment are both too interesting." ― Daniel Akst, Newsday David K. Randall is the New York Times best-selling author of four books, including Dreamland and Black Death at the Golden Gate . His writing has appeared in the New York Times , Wall Street Journal , and elsewhere. A senior reporter at Reuters, he lives in Montclair, New Jersey.