There is something soulful about the night, a time when activity goes underground, when dreams take over, and when we ponder the mysteries that are closed out of our consciousness during the day. This book skillfully and imaginatively explores these subjects in a fascinating and ruminative collection of essays. He begins with his childhood fear of the dark and then moves on to his experiences in a dream laboratory. Alvarez covers a lot of turf in his consideration of the links between night, creativity, and dreams. He spends the night shift with some New York City cops and muses on the efforts of those who work while we sleep. As he did in The Savage God: A Study of Suicide, A. Alvarez demonstrates a knack for covering a subject with poetry, passion, and breadth.