From literary theory to social anthropology, the influence of Freud runs through every part of the human and social sciences. In <EM>The Lure of Dreams</EM>, Harvie Ferguson shows how Freud's writings and particulary <EM>The Interpretation of Dreams</EM> contribute, both in their content and in the baroque and dream-like forms in which they are cast, to our understanding of the character of modernity.<BR> This novel and stimulating approach to Freud and to the dilemmas of modernity and postmodernity will fascinate everyone with an interest in the development of the modern consciousness.