Sarane Alexandrian traces the development of surrealism from its origins in the Dada anti-art revolt of 1916-1920 to the death of its guiding spirit, Andre Breton, in 1966. Alexandrian discusses and illustrates an astonishing variety of surrealist artists. The result is a thorough and sympathetic account of the one current within 20th-century culture that has devoted itself to the pursuit of a sense of magic.