Braid on Hypnotism

Regarded by many as the first genuine hypnotist, James Braid is also often referred to as the "Father of Modern Hypnotism." His work, Hypnotism; or Neurypnology, the Rationale of Nervous Sleep, was published less than two years after the discovery of hypnotism. A highly skilled surgeon, Braid studied at Edinburgh University and was a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons. Having witnessed a performance of mesmerism, Braid took out the role of an operator, or guide, and simultaneously proved the use of magnets as irrelevant and produced the basic rules of hypnotism. In this seminal work, his only book of considerable size, Braid illustrates the principles of hypnotism and the tools to use it.