Review by Choice Review
Lewis (DePaul Univ.) and Oliver (independent scholar) explore dreams in a cultural, historical, and psychological context. The book is divided into two main sections: an encyclopedia and a section on dream symbols. The encyclopedia includes entries on concepts (e.g., age and dreams, bizarreness of dreams, collective unconscious, and pregnancy nightmares), cultures (e.g., ancient Egypt, India, and Yansi), and scholars in the field (e.g., Alfred Maury). The entries range in length from two sentences to two pages. The section on dream symbols is 26 pages with entries ranging from one to five sentences. The authors state that the "interpretations are meant to be suggestive rather than definitive." A list of research sources and an index are included. Unfortunately, the index seems to have some of the same problems as the one in the first edition (CH, Dec'95, 33-1892), including unevenness. For example, the article on Aristotle mentions many of his works, including De Anima and De Insomniis, but only De Anima is indexed. Summing Up: Recommended. With reservations. Lower-level undergraduates and general readers. S. Jent University of Louisville
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
With 250 entries, The Dream Encyclopedia covers the role of dreams from the Gilgamesh epic to the theories of Sigmund Freud. Lewis is the author of The Astrology Encyclopedia [RBB Ag 94] and The Encyclopedia of Afterlife Beliefs and Phenomena [RBB Ap 15 95]. His new work includes scientific information on sleep and information on the place of dreams in religion and anthropology. For example, entries on religions and ethnic groups from around the world discuss the importance of dreams to those cultures. Entries range from one to four pages and end with bibliographies of sources for additional information. Black-and-white photographs accompany many of the articles. Arranged alphabetically, the encyclopedia is easy to use, and cross-referencing is accomplished by using boldface type. A section on dream interpretation, with more than 700 symbols and what they are supposed to mean, follows the encyclopedia. An appendix lists addresses of organizations and laboratories that do dream research. A subject index provides additional access. The work does have some flaws. For example, Patricia Garfield is mentioned in the entry Healing and Dreams, but her name is not boldfaced to refer to her own entry. The same is true of Cicero in the article on Rome. One can also quarrel with certain omissions. While there are entries for authors (e.g., Chaucer), Samuel Taylor Coleridge's dream that became "Kubla Khan" is omitted. Some entries suffer from lack of depth. For example, the article Sleep Learning states that memory shuts down so learning cannot take place in sleep but provides little explanation of this beyond references to other sources. Dreams are a popular subject with at least two other recent works. The Encyclopedia of Dreams: Symbols and Interpretation, by Rosemary Ellen Guiley [RBB O 15 93], is another popular treatment that emphasizes dream interpretation. The Encyclopedia of Sleep and Dreaming, edited by Mary A. Carskadon [RBB O 15 93], is a more scholarly work with lengthy articles written by scientists. Lewis' encyclopedia contains elements of both works but duplicates neither. The Dream Encyclopedia is recommended for high-school and public libraries that need a popular treatment of this topic. (Reviewed November 15, 1995)
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
This A-to-Z resource covers everything one needs to know about dreams from the early fascination of the fourth century B.C.E., when Chuang-tzu dreamed that he was a butterfly, to dreams and the New Age and the questions of "What will the future bring?" The book contains 276 dream-related topics from art history to science, along with information on dreams from ancient times to the present. More than 1000 dream symbols and explanations are included, from airplane dreams, which may mean that a dreamer has the power to "rise above" a situation, to zoo dreams, which may indicate that the dreamer needs to "tidy up" a situation. In addition, the book presents numerous entries for the people involved in dreams-from healers and therapists such as Aristotle and Freud to movements and dream topics such as Buddhism and dreams in movies. Both authors have impressive backgrounds: Lewis has taught at the University of Wisconsin since 1999 and previously authored The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements and The Astrology Book; Oliver has worked as a crisis intervention therapist for 30 years and previously wrote Angels A to Z and Afterlife Journeys. Bottom Line This attractive and comprehensive book is accessible to both curious observers and serious students of dreams. It provides a nice balance of scholarly and nonscholarly information as well as numerous illustrations and research sources. A great buy for both public and academic libraries.-Kathleen A. Welton, Chicago (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
