What makes Wild Nights so liberating is that it is descriptive, not prescriptive. It does not hector. It barely engages with the science of slumber at all. It aims, rather, to describe the social history and evolving culture of sleepthrough literature…through ethnographies, through old diaries and memoirs and medical texts…Reiss has a fine eye for quotes, whether it's Marcel Proust remembering his childhood loneliness at bedtime or Henry David Thoreau, afflicted with terrible insomnia, lamenting the freneticism of the industrialized world…
The New York Times - Jennifer Senior
★ 01/30/2017 Reiss (The Showman and the Slave), professor of English at Emory University, takes a historical and literary look at sleep, particularly as it is practiced—or not—in the modern West. Reiss accessibly addresses an astounding breadth of material, though he touches only occasionally on the science of sleep—this is neither an in-depth neurological discussion nor a guide to fixing sleep difficulties. From the very beginning, Reiss argues against popular conceptions of what is considered “normal” sleep: “sleeping in one straight shot through the night... with, at most, two consenting adults sharing a bed.” As he also notes, “virtually nothing about our standard model of sleep existed as we know it two centuries ago.” Electric lighting and factory work removed people from sleep that was more attuned to seasonal and regional variations in daylight and warmth. Middle-class ideals of multiroomed houses pushed away previous patterns of communal sleeping and sleeping with children in the same room or bed. In the 21st century, the blue light emitted by ubiquitous digital screens decreases melatonin output, reducing the ability to sleep, and the reliance on 24-hour call centers to cater to Westerners’ IT and shopping needs disturbs the sleep patterns of workers elsewhere. This is a captivating examination and Reiss gives readers much to ponder long into the night. Agent: Wendy Strothman, Strothman Agency. (Mar.)
"What makes Wild Nights so liberating is that it is descriptive, not prescriptive. It does not hector...It aims, rather, to describe the social history and evolving culture of sleepthrough literature, through ethnographies, through old diaries and memoirs and medical texts... [Wild Nights ] pops with insight."Jennifer Senior, New York Times "[Wild Nights ] is a new cultural and anthropological examination of sleep through the ages.... Sleep remains a universal experience, but it's lived seven billion different ways. One finishes Wild Nights with the feeling that our modern-day anxieties about sleep are the symptom of another, more complicated disease."—Jacob Silverman, New Republic "Sleep is a culturally fluid phenomenon, reveals Benjamin Reiss in this marvelous scientific and literary study."—Nature "Western society is obsessed with a good night's sleep. To get it, we impose strict prebed rituals and regular wake-up times on ourselves and our children, feeling anxious if we toss and turn in the night. But the idea of a perfect sleep practice is relatively new in human history, Benjamin Reiss explains in his new book Wild Nights ."—Sarah Begley, TIME "Get a solid eight hours in, no electronic screens in bed, wake up at the same time every morning, yeah, yeah. We modern fold have it all figured out, don't we? Maybe not, says Reiss, as he explores how getting a good night's sleep evolved and why it varies from one culture and era to the next."—Gemma Tarlach, Discover "In his book on the mysteries of human sleep, [Reiss] looks for guidance to the latest scientific studies, yes, but he also ventures beyond the realm of the scientific, including insights from history and literature."—Science of Us "[Wild Nights is] a great, collective blend of scientific, historical, and literary works that is as well-written and enjoyable as it is provocative and informative.... Undoubtedly, this book is an important contribution for everyone who sleeps, scientists and other citizens alike."—Sleep Health Journal "[Wild Nights ] is a captivating examination and Reiss gives readers much to ponder long into the night."—Publishers Weekly, starred review "[Wild Nights is] a thorough probing into why sleep is such a problem for so many in contemporary society.... A fresh approach to a familiar phenomenon."—Kirkus Reviews "Reiss's interdisciplinary approach to the topic offers varied perspectives, compelling anecdotes, and a well-researched bibliography for readers interested in learning more about the global state of sleep affairs."—Library Journal "Engaging our imagination with equal parts history, literature, science, and social criticism, Benjamin Reiss traces our past notions of sleep, from sources as diverse as Thoreau's journals, Balzac's coffee consumption, and Skinner's baby box, to illumine our present viewspotentially to transform them."—Maryanne Wolf, author of Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain "Wild Nights is a literary and historical triumph, showing how sleep patterns have been deeply connected to social structures throughout human history. It is a profound and thoroughly readable book."—Carlos H. Schenck, M.D., author of Sleep: The Mysteries, The Problems, The Solutions "Lacking for neither flair nor wit, Reiss shows how deeply embedded sleep, in all of rich complexity, has been in the American past. Wild Nights is nothing short of a tour de force."—A. Roger Ekirch, author of At Day's Close: Night in Times Past "A fascinating look at a phenomenon we have taken for granted. Benjamin Reiss pulls the bedcovers off of sleep, revealing a deep and significant history of Western culture and politics.... Written with subtlety and provocation, this is a must-read for anyone whose head ever hit a pillow."—Lennard J. Davis, author of Enabling Acts and Obsession: A History "Ranging widely across time and cultures, Wild Nights offers a rich perspective on Americans' present-day expectations about a good night's sleep.... This smart and engaging book is an ideal companion for that middle-of-the-night break, as well as for serious thought in the bright light of day."—Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz, author of A Taste for Provence and Wild Unrest "A lively, astute, wide-ranging reconnaissance of the attempted re-engineering of modern humanity's sleep habits. Benjamin Reiss pointedly and persuasively questions whether today's 'sleep science' delivers better results than what seemed second nature to our pre-industrial forebears."—Lawrence Buell, Harvard University
01/01/2017 In his latest work, Reiss (literature, Emory Univ.; The Showman and the Slave) takes on the daunting task of compiling a history of modern sleep over the last two centuries, with mixed success. Attempting to build on works such as A. Roger Ekrich's At Day's Close: Nights in Times Past, Reiss's interdisciplinary approach to the topic offers varied perspectives, compelling anecdotes, and a well-researched bibliography for readers interested in learning more about the global state of sleep affairs. However, the author fails to explain convincingly the notion of modern sleep as "wild," and how its adoption has "created our restless world." There are simply too many cultural factors at play to decouple, many of which are hard to document. Often offering anachronistic comparisons beginning with the onset of modern sleep in the 19th century and ending in the digital age, Reiss rarely follows through on the respective historical arcs that are pertinent toward a comprehensive telling of the story he wants to write. VERDICT For those interested in better understanding some of the developments that led to our contemporary notion of sleep, Reiss' effort offers a solid starting point. However, the topic is too ambitious and sprawling to be fully covered in this concise work.—Matt Gallagher, Univ. of the Sciences, Philadelphia
2016-12-19 A thorough probing into why sleep is such a problem for so many in contemporary society.Reiss (English/Emory Univ.; Theaters of Madness: Insane Asylums and Nineteenth-Century American Culture, 2008, etc.) takes both a long and surprisingly wide view of sleep, looking back over the centuries to examine literature, cultures, and social and medical history. The author's main thesis is that we have too rigid a sense of what sleep should be: a private experience of eight solid hours in a dark, quiet, comfortable setting. "Only over the past few hundred years," he writes, "did sleep come to be privatized, packaged into one standard time slot, and removed from nature's great rhythmic cycles of temperature and light." Human sleep patterns, he writes, are remarkably flexible, and there is no single correct and healthy way to sleep. Before the industrialized and electrified age, sleep often came in segments throughout the day and night, and in many cases, groups—entire families—slept together. The author devotes an entire chapter to Thoreau, who in Walden showed his preoccupation with sleeping and waking on one's own schedule. Reiss also cites a wide variety of other writers, including B.F. Skinner, Benjamin Spock, Maurice Sendak, and Arianna Huffington. He even considers the videos of Andy Warhol and Kanye West, and he includes sleep researchers' studies, anecdotes of troubled sleepers, and the unhappy stories of frazzled parents struggling to put their children to sleep. In addition, Reiss takes readers to diverse locations, from utopian communities, such as the Shakers, to insane asylums and the holds of slave ships. In the final chapter, the author tackles the question of where sleep is heading and finds no clear answer; some people will perhaps find flexibility, but others will remain controlled by unforgiving schedules. A fresh approach to a familiar phenomenon.