Rating: 
Summary: Much needed perspective to a group of adulating adolescents
Review: Although I don't agree with everthing Mr. Disch has to say, I did enjoy the book as a wonderfully critical perspesctive of how science fiction became ubiquitous with pop culture and influenced generations of people so blinded with the dream of science as magic, that they didn't happen to notice the sometimes subtle (and sometimes not) use of their 'classic' stories as conduits for the authors political, social, and economic views.whew. You'll be dumbfounded (as I was) at how obvious some of the allegorical and symbolic elements of your favorite 'sci-fi' was in hindsight. You'll also feel a bit manipulated, but don't despair... millions have been duped. Anyway, just as he warns us not to take any of the authors too seriously, you should apply that same logic to his own opinions and just enjoy listening to an empassioned, educated, practiced writer turning a critical eye to the genre we love...
Rating: 
Summary: Too narrow a perspective
Review: At the outset I must say that I enjoyed reading this book. Its lively style and thoughtful content make it valuable, but it is heavily US-biassed. While Wells and Ballard do get some mention, the absence of reference to other British writers such as Aldiss are perplexing (unless their underlying philosophies conflict too much with Mr Disch's preferences). And at a wider level how could Stanislav Lem not be discussed in the section on aliens (especially, but not exclusively, see 'Solaris')? I accept Mr Disch's suggestion that Poe might be the source of SF - but it is only an opinion. To denigrate Mary Shelley by saying she is unread is foolish - I have certainly read 'Frankenstein' and found it no more difficult than 'The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym' - which I think is a wonderful novel. Now, if I was arguing against Mary Shelley as the source I would point out that she only wrote one novel that could be considered SF - we might just as readily claim William Morris as the source. Mr Disch wins my favour as a reader because of my respect for the work of Philip Dick for which Mr Disch seems to have similar respect. I have read Lawrence Sutin's biography which Mr Disch refers to frequently. Indeed I was flabbergasted to read a quote from Sutin of a meeting between Philip Dick and Mr Disch. Surely Mr Disch could have given a more immediate and insightful report of this encounter! (see page 153 of the Touchstone edition). Does SF change the way people see things (SF readers anyway)? I sensed a great shift from the military as heroes just after the Second World War, to something more ambivalent (see 'The Voyage of the Space Beagle') and, finally, to open distrust (see 'The Invincible'). But, was SF ahead of public perception or responding to it? I'm not sure that SF defused the bomb, as Mr Disch suggests, and, in consequence, reserve my view on other suggestions and observations that he makes. But this book is worth reading, and is certainly no effort to do so.
Rating:
Summary: A Must for Sci-Fi Houndogs, Too
Review: C'mon people -- the reason experienced sci-fans will love this item is the steaming heaps of delicious gossip! Group sex with Theodore Sturgeon! Brain-seizure monologues from Philip K. Dick! The Issac Asimov subtext of apocalyptic terrorist cult Aum Shinrikyo! Sieg heil with Robert Heinlein! Literary Stalinism from Ursula Le Guin! Alfred Bester drunk and forgotten at sci-fi conferences! Disch's own acid trips! That's the more coherent and consistent part of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Personal Impressions of Science Fiction
Review: Disch has written an immensely fun book, a welcome addition to the tiny library of worthwhile sci fi criticism. It is not really a history or even an organized study of the genre, but a romp through a series of topics that interest Mr. Disch. For a seasoned reader, it is fun, infuriating, and thought provoking. It is not a balanced or neutral book, but is as personal and unfair as a letter to the editor of a newspaper. If you like s.f., you will find much enlightening here, and you will find things so annoying you will want to shred the book into little, tiny pieces.
Disch uses a lot of ad hominem comments and personal recollections to spice up his narrative, and this can be both the best and the worst of it. Unlike some other reviewers, I certainly don't find any "left wing" biases in Disch, but that shows you how personal this book is. His views are his own, and follow his momentary inclinations, rather than any fixed program.
That may be the problem: in the title and in his opening remarks, Disch addresses a fascinating question: how has s.f. affected the way we (Americans in particular) see the world? To what extent is it the dreams our stuff is made of? How did Science Fiction conquer the world? For my taste, he abandons that theme way too early and goes off on random fishing expeditions after feminists, strategic gaming s.f., and the Great White Whale, Robert Heinlein. That is why I give this book 3 stars.
"Dreams" clearly reflects science fiction as it stood around 1990, which is when much of this book was written, I believe. I feel that some of its concerns are a little parochial, in terms of time, nationality (we are not all Americans), and personality. Clearly poor Ursula K. LeGuin said something he didn't like at some point, and I am not sure that Heinlein's every utterance is as important for good or ill as Disch takes for granted. If you are looking for a comprehensive view of science fiction, please read Brian Aldiss; his work is still the gold standard. If you want to be informed, intrigued and exasperated, please read this book. I recommend it as something to share with s.f. loving friends; you will have hours of fun discussing just why Disch is wrong-- and what more can you ask of a book?
Rating:
Summary: Scholarship and spleen
Review: Disch's attacks on such deserving targets as L. Ron Hubbard are characterized by excellent scholarship. His history of the UFO-abduction crowd follows the paper trail meticulously, showing how abduction literature has walked the fence between fact and fiction, and his account of Robert Heinlein's early political life is fascinating. The level of scholarship seems to fall precipitously in his chapter on women in SF, however. While LeGuin should certainly not be immune from criticism, and while her work does contain much to criticize-- for example, while she is very good at showing an individual character's growth or change, she is less adaept at showing societal change, except as an aggregate of individuals all undergoing the same epiphany; political ideals are strongly present in her work but mechanisms are notably absent. But Disch makes none of these points, and fails to present any coherent picture of LeGuin's works, and their faults, and instead vents his spleen in phrases like "One does not read LeGuin for pleasure", a statement no more useful to criticism than it is true. The attention to the paper trail is also absent; he not only ascribes motives and meanings to LeGuin's works without apparently having read her own comments about them, but also, judging from his statements about the plots of her novels, he does not seem to have reread any of them prior to writing this book. The entire chapter is filled with this sort of casual misinformation-- for example, he lists C.L. Moore among women SF writers who were brought to the field through their husbands, when Moore had been writing solo for 4 years before her marriage to Henry Kuttner. I would recommend this book, but with the caveat that the reader interested in LeGuin and women SF writers in general should supplement it with a history of women in SF and perhaps some of LeGuin's own essays.
Rating:
Summary: From Poe to Heinlein and Not Much In Between!
Review: I applaud Mr. Disch's willingness to take on this topic. Very few people have looked at Sci-Fi as a serious literary endeavor. To that end, he wrote a fascinating and thoroughly interesting account of the origins of the Science Fiction and the effect it has had on our society. My biggest complaint about the work is that it should have been longer. Disch stresses a few authors in his work, but leaves out a great deal of territory that could have made this an even better read. I enjoyed reading about Poe and found that Disch has a compelling argument for annointing him as the first SF writer. However, I felt the author spent too much time on areas that I feel are totally unrelated to SF work, such as alien abduction and religious cults. I disagree with the premise that the Heaven's Gate cult is an off-shoot of American SF. I did not think that this part of the book fit in with the theme. Disch correctly points out in his introduction that he will leave out many authors and works that will anger or disappoint their fans. It is important to remember that this book is not a literary review or critique of the assembled works of SF, but an attempt to fit the genre into the broader scope of literary endeavor. That being said, I do think that Herbert's "Dune" should be remembered more than just for the distinction of having been made into a bad movie. And while I truly love Heinlein, and I did get a kick out of the author's apparent love/hate relationship with both Heinlein and his political views, the book at times seemed more of an analysis of Heinlein than of the SF genre as a whole. I really don't think that too many people changed their entire world view after reading "Farnham's Freehold". Overall, this book should be highly recommended to anyone researching some of the authors of the 50's and 60's as they make up the bulk of Disch's work. As stated above, it is not a review of your favorite author. In fact, if your favorite author is Ursula LeGuin, please don't buy it. However, if you enjoy seeing a certain female SF writer get nailed in the teeth for a little hypocrisy, you'll enjoy at least one chapter.
Rating: 
Summary: An Infuriatingly Good Read
Review: I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes not only science fiction, but the idea of science fiction. It is a bleak look at the genre, and utterly infuriating at times. The arrogance of Disch's tone in attacking the value of writers from Mary Shelley to Robert Heinlein to Ursula LeGuin will leave many readers shaking in anger. I think you'll love it, too. It is a book that begs an argument on nearly every page. Disch clearly has favorites, and he happily ignores good books from writers he's busy bashing - LeGuin's "The Left Hand of Darkness" gets passing mention, while he denigrates "Always Coming Home" repeatedly. Same for Heinlein - few of his juvenile books, almost universally considered his best, are in evidence. But while Disch's biases are pretty clear, the strength of his arguments, particularly on the popularization of the genre through Star Trek and the UFO mythology, are tough to refute. What makes this book so very different from others on the genre is its willingness to see what science fiction means to people in general, not just a small elite who read the "literary-quality" science fiction. It's a refreshing change from the books that try frantically to justify the genre, all the time preaching to the choir. Disch almost goes a little too far from time to time - apparently, for example, if you don't like Hal Clement's scientific explanations, you're just another idiot who should go back to watching Star Trek. But I promise you, this book will make you think. And who doesn't love a good fight?
Rating:
Summary: Thought Provoking
Review: In this wonderful work of scholarship, one of Science Fiction's greatest minds presents a history of the genre and reflects on its meaning and future. He does not do so "objectively" so you may very well disagree with many of his ideas, as I did. But isn't that what books are for--to challenge us and make us think? My disagreements include his opinion that Poe was the founder of the SF genre (I take the opinion which he rejects, that SF is the descendant of ancient myths and legends), negative attitudes toward feminist SF and Star Trek, and his total ignorance of H.P Lovecraft as a SF writer. But despite all of that, I really loved the book. It had a discussion of every stage in the genre's history (going back over 100 years) and discusions of the works of what seemed like hundreds of writers.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting read, good points, Author has a strong bias.
Review: It's a good book with a lot of background on SF and how it effected our culture. The author does seem rather put out over the fact that more conservative authors had more effect than the left-of-Ted-Kennedy authors like himself. He does attack a certain liberal group with the same fever that he saves for the SF-Military authors at Baen Books. The "if it has a penis, it must be bad" feminists. Taking his obvious bias and anger in stride, this is a well researched & well written book by someone inside the business.
Rating:
Summary: An Opinionated, Page-Turning Romp Through Science Fiction
Review: Let me begin by stating that I have read very little science fiction in my life. I picked up Thomas Disch's "The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of" primarily because I had read and immensely enjoyed "The Castle of Indolence", his superb collection of essays on "poetry, poets and poetasters". I also was aware of Disch's reputation as a "literary" writer of science fiction, an author who reputedly stood above the pulpy cauldron of a genre often castigated as "low brow", and was interested in his opinion of the significance of science fiction-a significance which is strongly suggested by the subtitle of this book: "How Science Fiction Conquered the World" "The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of" is a wide ranging, opinionated romp through science fiction, a book which keeps you turning the pages with an avidity more typical of a horror or suspense novel. Beginning with the claim that science fiction is, at its root, an American genre that originated with Edgar Allen Poe ("our embarrassing ancestor"), Disch propels the reader through nearly two centuries of writing, showing how science fiction has been able to combine genuine visionary power with the most irrational, "lumpen-literature" characteristics of the black-print-screaming tabloid headlines about UFO abductees. In chapter after chapter, Disch renders strong opinions and insightful observations on how science fiction has evolved over the years, how that evolution has affected our view of the world and its possible futures, and how science fiction has been able to appropriate and define political, religious and social perspectives on the world. Along the way, Disch takes on feminism ("Can Girls Play Too? Feminizing Science Fiction"), Republicans ("Republicans on Mars-Science Fiction as Military Strategy"), and, not surprisingly, the unmitigated xenophobic need for an "other" ("The Third World and Other Alien Nations"). The most compelling thing about "The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of", however, is that it makes you want to sit down and read some of these science fiction writers-at least if you're like me, and haven't already.
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