I was pleased to see that this was not a dream encyclopedia! Mary A. Carskadon's Encyclopedia of Sleep and Dreaming is very much a scholarly reference book about the various psychological, physiological, and cultural aspects of sleeping and dreaming. The book starts with a short preface discussing the current (as of 1993) trends in sleep and dream research. Carskadon writes that the book is aimed at students. While the age of the student is not noted, much of the material is quite scientific in nature. It would be appropriate for the undergraduate level. As a reference it would still be relevant for graduates as well. The book is organized alphabetically with entries by various contributors. There are also "guidepost" entries which serve to help readers navigate from broad topics to more focused entries. Most entries include references to other sources, as well as cross-references to related entries.
Because the book covers so many types of topics, I believe it is a real strength to take contributions from many authors. There is a list of articles by contributor which also notes the institution of the contributor. The articles range in topic from chemicals and hormones, to sleep practices of different cultures. One or several authors might not have had the expertise to elaborate on these narrow subjects, but the large pool of contributors appears to have done a good job.
The book is most troubled by its age; it is 20 years old and has not seen a second edition. There is bound to be important research that has been left out due to its age. All the same, I see this book as a good introductory resource for students interested in this part of psychology.
Carskadon, M.A. (Ed.). (1993). Encyclopedia of Sleep and Dreaming. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Sleep, or the lack thereof, influences behaviors and has been studied or been a variable in many studies. I considered this book (and a set on drug abuse) when I was thinking week about the print reference for this module. The web page on perception grabbed me, however, and I changed my mind. I think this is a good background book even if it hasn't been updated recently.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting resource. This seems like a great source for psychology students. So many health issues are connected to sleep that a resource focusing on it could be quite useful. I think it is great that there are many contributors thus creating a more balanced resource.
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