A propulsive, utterly engrossing history of the subject, seen through the prism of four of its prominent contributors ... Miller’s narration of the subject is commanding, bright and deft. His prose cuts and flows through the last century of impossibly complex stop-start progress in the measuring and quantifying of sleep — why we do it, and how. None of it is simple and all of it is captivating ... Miller is superb at identifying and then interweaving the multiple confluences of this sprawling subject. There are interesting discussions of sleep disorders and of the impact of impaired sleep on society. But the most fascinating of the book’s threads is that of REM sleep ... I found myself studding the margins with exclamation marks.
Two narratives at once: a sweeping journey of discovery about dreams, sleep and the terra incognita of unconsciousness; and a wake-up call about the dangers of chronic exhaustion. It’s time, Mr. Miller tells us, to take our sleep back.
Though the narrative is occasionally sluggish, the author provides an interesting examination of an issue that affects us all. Miller shows us how a good night’s sleep came to be recognized as critical for health and development.
Eye-opening ... The biographical background humanizes the scientific history, and Miller excels at drawing out the real-world implications of the research, as when he discusses how Mary Carskadon’s discovery in the 1980s that teenagers need more sleep than younger kids led high schools across the U.S. to delay their start times. Readers will have no problem staying alert through this fascinating scientific history.
