Why do we dream? Why has evolution endowed us with a brain that periodically produces a world of strange visions? Perhaps we are most truly in touch with ourselves when we are dreaming. Michel Jouvet has dedicated his life to the study of dream mechanisms. He discovered the existence of "paradoxical sleep", which he named and described as the third type of brain mechanism. In Le Sommeil et Le Rêve Jouvet summarises the essential aspects of his findings, theories and experiences. A member of the French Academy of Science, Michel Jouvet heads a laboratory in Lyons specialising in the study of dreams and sleep. He holds a gold medal from the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique. He is the author of Le Château des Songes, published by Editions Odile Jacob.