Home
/
Non-Fiction
/
A Book of Secrets
A Book of Secrets
Oct 7, 2024 3:30 AM

Author:Derren Brown

A Book of Secrets

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'Enlightening, thought-provoking and illuminating. Derren Brown asks questions about the world, and his intelligent curiosity benefits us all.'

ELIZABETH DAY

In A Book of Secrets, the star of 'Showman', and internationally bestselling author, Derren Brown shows us that it is in those moments when we are faced with adversity that we can find life's most lasting rewards.

In thirteen fascinating chapters, Derren takes us on a personal journey - to the scene of a childhood humiliation, to lonely evenings on tour, to being paralysed by shyness at a dinner party, to navigating middle age and to finding love.

Sharing moments of anger, frustration, loneliness and loss, Derren reveals how it's possible to find consolation and compassion. Even in our most challenging times we can find meaning and grow.

'Derren Brown is a mine of wisdom, humanity and kindness - everything we need to sustain and nourish ourselves.'

ALAIN DE BOTTON

***** 'This is the most I've seen Derren lay himself bare'

***** 'Funny, moving and always, always meaningful'

***** 'Derren's best book to date and the best book I have read this year'

***** 'Everything you need in this is a gem. I can't wait to read it a second time'

Reviews

Enlightening, thought-provoking and illuminating. Derren Brown asks questions about the world, and his intelligent curiosity benefits us all.

—— Elizabeth Day

Simple, genius and reassuring

—— Chris Evans

Rangan's latest book gets to the crux of what truly matters. Contentment, peace and happiness. This is a joy to read and a simple framework that you can put into practice immediately

—— Dr Rupy Aujla, author of THE DOCTOR'S KITCHEN

In this beautiful book there are so many valuable nuggets of wisdom to greatly improve your happiness and wellbeing. This book will change your life for the better

—— Stephen and David Flynn, The Happy Pear

This book opened my eyes to a lot of things. It guides you through simple and complex concepts by an expert who also feels like your best friend

—— Elizabeth Day, How to Fail Podcast

This book is full of very clear wisdom on the nature of happiness and how we can attain it. A well-researched, personal and entirely user-friendly guide for anyone who worries they may have their priorities wrong and who seeks a more contented life. I read it in one sitting and it helped me a lot.

—— Matt Haig

No matter how happy you feel, this book will lift you up and make you stronger

—— Fearne Cotton

There's nothing so fascinating as a social anthropologist's analysis of his own tribe. Henrich shows how strange and exceptional Western society is when compared with most of the world

—— John Barton, author of A History of the Bible

Henrich has thought more deeply about cultural evolution than anybody alive. His fascinating insights into just how weird people like he and I are, with our western lifestyles, and what the implications of that are for better and for worse, are a great contribution to scholarship.

—— Matt Ridley , author of 'How Innovation Works'

Propelled by a bold vision, this landmark study is required reading for anyone curious about the origins of modernity

—— Walter Scheidel, author of The Great Leveler

Henrich and his colleagues are shaking the foundations of psychology and economics - and hoping to change the way social scientists think about human behaviour and culture.

—— Pacific Standard

[A] sweeping and magisterial book, likely to become as foundational to cultural psychology as the WEIRD acronym [Henrich] and his colleagues coined a decade ago.

—— Alex Mackiel , Quillette

Joseph Henrich's The WEIRDest People in the World . . . makes for stunning reading. (It is also written with such wit and humor, and luminous clarity.) Probably an understatement to say that it is one of the most important books of the year.

—— Cass Sunstein , author of Nudge

One of the most interesting books I've read this year.

—— James Marriot (via Twitter)

A brilliant performance - accessible, playful and scholarly, turning conventional history on its head and approaching it in a new way.

—— Simon Sebag-Montefiore , BBC History Books of the Year

Chalmers posits that virtual reality will not only be commonplace, but it'll be as valid as our genuine reality. We'll interact with virtual objects, which will replace screen-based computing. We'll spend much of our lives in virtual environments - come the next pandemic, we might be hanging out in simulate worlds, not on Zoom

—— Rory Kiberd, Books of the Year , Irish Times

The future, too, is the subject of David Chalmers's Reality +. Rather than scoffing at Mark Zuckerberg's metaversal adventures, Chalmers gives due consideration to what the rise of virtual worlds could mean for the real one-and whether, after a certain point, they'll even be distinguishable.

—— Books of the Year , Prospect

Chalmers is very clever because [in Reality+] he's managed to rehearse many of the key arguments that you would encounter in most philosophy courses, but through that lens of virtual reality... It genuinely is thought-provoking (or virtual thought-provoking). It's well-written too

—— Nigel Warburton, Books of the Year , Five Books

Scull delivers a remarkable history of psychiatry. The final section is a devastatingly effective chronicle of the rise of psychopharmacology and its tendency to regard all mental illnesses as potentially treatable with the right medication. This sweeping and comprehensive survey is an impressive feat

—— Publishers Weekly

A carefully researched history of psychiatry, it provides a critical assessment of the psychiatric enterprise. In the rush to find cures for psychiatric illnesses, Scull believes that there has been a disappointing lack of focus on patients

—— Psychiatric News

A compelling argument for why we should be doing less and doing it better... This comforting, calm book is filled with sensible, practical ideas

—— Independent, *Books of the Year*

Burkeman offers practical solutions to problems that might otherwise seem too monolithic to disassemble

—— Emily Watkins , i

Oliver Burkeman's Guardian feature was called "This Column Will Change Your Life". The wisdom of this book could do the same

—— Julia Bueno , Times Literary Supplement

[A] brilliant, comforting time-management guide

—— Stig Abell , Sunday Times

Kind of cool

—— Jeff Bridges
Comments
Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Copyright 2023-2024 - www.zzdbook.com All Rights Reserved