Dreamtime (book)

Dreamtime (book) refers to at least two distinct works:

1. Dreamtime by Robert Leeson: A children's novel published in 1979. This book tells a time travel story where a young British boy is transported back to prehistoric Australia. He interacts with early humans and experiences their way of life, learning about survival and the beginnings of Aboriginal culture. The book is primarily aimed at young readers and presents a fictionalized account of early Aboriginal history and the concept of the Dreamtime as understood in Aboriginal cultures.

2. Dreamtime: Concerning the Boundary Between Wilderness and Culture by Hans Peter Duerr: A scholarly work of anthropology. This book explores the symbolic significance of wilderness and its relationship to culture. While the title may evoke Aboriginal Australian concepts, the book's focus is much broader, examining how different cultures throughout history have defined and interacted with the natural world, creating boundaries between civilization and what is considered "wild." Duerr analyzes the psychological and cultural underpinnings of these boundaries and their impact on human societies.

It is important to differentiate between these two works, as they address different audiences and engage with the concept of "Dreamtime" in vastly different ways. Leeson's book uses the term within the context of Australian Aboriginal spirituality (albeit in a fictionalized narrative), while Duerr's book uses "Dreamtime" more metaphorically to describe a liminal space between the known and unknown, the controlled and the untamed.