The Dreams of Dragons: An Exploration and Celebration of the Mysteries of Nature [Paperback]

Lyall Watson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1992

Prowling the edges of science with insight and sensitivity, Lyall Watson maintains that there is a truth to be found behind every seemingly impossible legend. The best-selling author of Supernature and Gifts of Unknown Things, Watson takes us on a journey through prehistoric burial sites on the beaches of South Africa, ancient ritual iron mines in Swaziland, and present-day villages in Indonesia and New Guinea inhabited by man-eating dragons and headhunters. In these and other extraordinary travels we encounter phenomenon that defy traditional scientific explanation. Watson looks beyond the scientific "facts" and helps us--through his own remarkable discoveries--to see the poetry and wonder of the natural world.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

With doctorates in anthropology and ethology (animal behavior) and additional degrees in botany, chemistry, geology, geography, marine biology, and ecology, Watson logically investigates illogical events. He speaks nine languages and has worked as the Seychelles commissioner for the International Whaling Commission and as assistant to Raymond Dart, the distinguished South African paleontologist.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Destiny Books (May 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892813725
• ISBN-13: 978-0892813728
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,152,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Whimsy in science?, June 24, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dreams of Dragons: An Exploration and Celebration of the Mysteries of Nature (Paperback)

Lyall Watson is a renaissance man, and his vast and varied experiences, readings and interests are easily on display in this and all his other books. Watson has an eye for whimsical and unusual events, for beautiful images whether natural or manufactured, and a keen intution for the magic in the ordinary image, thought, and objects. This book specifically addresses all those strange and unexplained events which our orthodox scientists (isn't that an oxymoron) reject as unproven, untested, and unscientific. Watson who holds a PhD in some branch of the natural sciences sees the inifinite humor, compassion, and joy inherent in being alive on this earth, and the strange inhabitants of it, whether it be Komodo dragons, human beings, or rivers. In his stories and anecdotes inanimate objects come to life, water can be happy or sad, mammals can re-grow severed limbs, and teh existance of shells (with their forms often representing mathematical perfection) can have hidden lives.... If for no other reason than to have whimsical, unusual, and interesting trivia to talk about at a dry and dull dinner table, this book is to be read and marvelled at...

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read it for the Cannibal article, November 15, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dreams of Dragons: An Exploration and Celebration of the Mysteries of Nature (Paperback)

I read and enjoyed this book years ago, and copied a chapter I have reread a number of times and shared with friends. In the chapter called The Essence of Balance, Watson describes a culture of cannibals living in Indonesian New Guinea. These Papuan Asmat people have (had, presumably) a system of headhunting that at first glance is repellent: eating your dead enemy's brains? But in delicate detail, one comes to potentially understand this system as infinitely more civilized (to start with, by resolving tribal tensions with a single death) than our supposedly superior ways of bombing, maiming, and starving hundreds or millions. This essay alone is worth the price of the book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read, April 10, 2007

By 

J. Wagner (Elton, Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dreams of Dragons: An Exploration and Celebration of the Mysteries of Nature (Paperback)

Loved it! A small, quick read and well worth it. Mr. Watson brings myth and legend to life.