People spend a good third of their lives lying down: sleeping, dreaming, making love, thinking, suffering and getting well. Bernd Brunner´s ode to lying down is a rich exploration of cultural history and an entertaining collection of tales all in one, ranging from the history of the mattress to the ´slow living movement´ and beyond. He approaches the horizontal state from a number of directions, but never loses his keen sense for the odd or unusual detail. Far from being a pose of passivity, lying down can be a protest, a chance to think or change a point of view.