Mapping the Darkness, Kenneth Miller
Mapping the Darkness, Kenneth Miller
3 Rating(s)
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
Club: $13.99

Mapping the Darkness
The Visionary Scientists Who Unlocked the Mysteries of Sleep

Author: Kenneth Miller

Narrator: James Fouhey

Unabridged: 11 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/03/2023


Synopsis

The definitive story of the scientists who set out to answer two questions: “Why do we sleep?” and "How can we sleep better?”

A century ago, sleep was considered a state of nothingness—even a primitive habit that we could learn to overcome. Then, an immigrant scientist and his assistant spent a month in the depths of a Kentucky cave, making nationwide headlines and thrusting sleep science to the forefront of our consciousness.

In the 1920s, Nathaniel Kleitman founded the world’s first dedicated sleep lab at the University of Chicago, where he subjected research participants (including himself) to a dizzying array of tests and tortures. But the tipping point came in 1938, when his cave experiment awakened the general public to the unknown—and vital—world of sleep. Kleitman went on to mentor the talented but troubled Eugene Aserinsky, whose discovery of REM sleep revealed the astonishing activity of the dreaming brain, and William Dement, a jazz-bass playing revolutionary who became known as the father of sleep medicine. Dement, in turn, mentored the brilliant maverick Mary Carskadon, who uncovered an epidemic of sleep deprivation among teenagers, and launched a global movement to fight it.

Award-winning journalist Kenneth Miller weaves together science and history to tell the story of four outsider scientists who took sleep science from fringe discipline to mainstream obsession through spectacular experiments, technological innovation, and single-minded commitment. Readers will walk away with a comprehensive understanding of sleep and why it affects so much of our lives.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Nikki on August 13, 2023

More history than science. Super props to Kenneth Miller for the insane amount of research that went into this book. It’s well written and easy to follow. I’m giving three stars because I wanted the science. It may be in there but I’m not interested in spending a hundred more pages trying to find it......more

Goodreads review by Tara on September 13, 2023

Format Read: Paperback gifted by the publisher (releases 10/3/23) Review: The first chapter of this book is by far the best. I enjoyed this very large slow read, but there was way too much detailed history for me. Recommended For: Anyone who has a serious interest in the history of sleep study.......more

Goodreads review by David on May 30, 2024

I was totally engrossed by this book! It's not just about the groundbreaking discoveries in sleep science, but also about the scientists behind them. Their stories are just as captivating as their research. It's definitely a must-read – I couldn't put it down!......more

Goodreads review by Kirstie on December 10, 2023

As someone with idiopathic hypersomnia, this book addresses something that is close to my heart. I've been on a mission to read more about sleep science, its history and what knowledge is out there. This was a very interesting read for ticking all of those boxes. Unlike your normal health science boo......more

Goodreads review by Ali on March 16, 2024

An engaging history which follows the careers of the first professional sleep science lab, from founder Nathaniel Kleitman's flight to NYC from anti-semitic exclusion in Europe, Miller details the development of a career, a lab, the breakthrough of discovering REM sleep, the formation of a professio......more