I did not write the following dust cover. I have a real editor, so do not do that anymore:

I can tell you that I wrote 9 or 10 entries in the book while in the grips of a pneumonia- induced fever in Portland Oregon, which caused me to sleep enough to dream, something I have avoided most of my life.

I would really like to thank Charles, the editor and Lynn the publisher for making something out of the morass between my sleeping ears.

James LaFond’s Book of Nightmares is a short collection of the author’s dreams, largely from March 2019. LaFond’s dreams are violent, sexual, whimsical, sometimes long and sometimes short. They provide a glimpse into the subconscious mind of a man who is uncommonly candid with his conscious mind, which he has shared with readers in many memoirs of his life as a grocer in one of the world’s most dangerous cities. “I’ll dare say, James, from what you write here, an astute reader can only infer that you don’t understand why your dreams are violent and why they really exist. This is the general nature of dreams: they humiliate and torture. The Czech novelist and philosopher, Ladislav Klima, said, ‘Dreams are masochistic.’ Also, more a student of Carl Jung than of Sigmund Freud, psychiatrist Maurice Nicoll, once a student of G.I. Gurdjieff, wrote in the last chapter on responsibility in his book, Dream Psychology: ‘No one must expect to live in contact with the unconscious without being constantly humiliated. The honest man dreams of theft. The pious man dreams lascivious dreams. The shadow and undeveloped parts of the self dwell in the unconscious and show themselves in dreams.’”-Charles Steiner, EditorAbout the author: James LaFond is the most well-read and well-fought man alive today, and the most prolific writer, having over 150 books in print. He is a historian, diarist, biographer, tabletop game designer, stick fighter, machete duelist, boxing coach and train riding traveling prophet.

The first review:

5.0 out of 5 stars

Fantastic Voyage Revisited September 11, 2019

The dreams James LaFond has allowed his readers access to are markedly energetic, vivid, and adventuresome in large part. While many of the dreams do contain violence, the violence rarely involves real bloodshed and murder, although there is one that comes close, as I recall. And a few of them are just simply downright childlike, fit as a fairy tale, touching, and charming.

Few writers throughout history have managed to share their dreams with readers. Anais Nin was one writer that preceded James LaFond, letting her readers in on her dreams through her diaries.

The author has limited the scope of his recorded dreams to a relatively short time-span, all in all, and one that was a particularly stressful time.

I don't think anyone dreams like James LaFond, if only because all dreams are unique to each individual, but reading his allows the reader to make comparisons. They have a narrative drive as well such that if you read this book before you fall asleep, be assured that your dreams will change as a result of your reading.

If you wish to experiment with your dreams or if you wish that someone else's travails be your entertainment, read this book.