Concise, evocative, wise and, above all, humane, The Doors of Perception is a masterpiece

There is nothing the pen of Huxley touches which it does not illuminate, and as the record of a highly civilised, brilliantly articulate man under the influence of an astonishing drug, The Doors of Perception is a tour de force

You can look at Aldous Huxley and draw parallels with the Beatles: Crome Yellow and Those Barren Leaves were his breakthrough Merseybeat books, Point Counter Point was his 'Revolver', with The Doors of Perception his full-blown Sergeant Pepper trip. Like the Beatles, Huxley had so many ideas in his head that it was natural he would want to expand and experiment. What drugs provided for them both was not escape, but reevaluation

The Doors of Perception is a poignant book, partly because it reveals the human frailties and yearnings of a very cerebral writer

A timely and accessible framework for understanding what trust is, how it works, why it matters and how it is evolving. It is an important primer to the obstacles and opportunities we face as a society if we are to repair and redefine trust across socioeconomic, political and cultural divides. The stakes are high.

Extremely thought-provoking . . . a must-read for anyone interested in how the world works - and will work in the future

Some people can educate and others can entertain; in Who Can You Trust, Rachel Botsman does both. Read it for insight or escape as it takes you on both journeys

Thrilling. Brilliantly exposes the central paradox of the IT revolution - that it connects us while keeping us apart. Rachel Botsman encourages us to take responsibility for the kind of world we want to live in, and to preserve society's most fragile asset: trust

Timely, lucid and beautifully written. This is one of the most important books you'll read this year

This book perfectly walks the reader through the past, present, and future of trust as we know it. Rachel Botsman's expertise on this topic is unmatched. It's an absolute must-read for business leaders and everyday consumers alike

Botsman rightly challenges us in this new era to ask the compelling questions about who, why and how we trust. Highly recommended

In Rachel Botsman's capable hands, the concept of 'trust' - and its changing shape over the ages - becomes clear and accessible. Utterly compelling

Sharp, penetrating, and obsessively researched, this book will open your eyes to a phenomenon that is as important as it is impossible to ignore.

An absorbing, story-filled narrative that will leave readers with a new understanding of the phenomenon that drives life in our digital age

A sharp, thoughtful, sometimes-surprising account of how we build trust with strangers now.

In a time when people are doubting experts, suspicious of the media, and losing faith in government and business, Rachel Botsman is here with a lucid analysis of what it takes to build and rebuild trust. Trust me: this is a book you need to read

Rachel Botsman's eye-opening, timely book delves into the unfolding crisis of trust spreading throughout the world. She brilliantly describes how the established trust framework is undergoing a radical transformation as digital technologies take root in every facet of our lives. Read this book and you'll be ready for a revolution in trust that rewrites the rules of human interaction

Book of the Month

This is a book that every adult reader should pick up to gain some perspective on how reliant we have become on technology, and how we can afford to approach it with more skepticism

Botsman has found a rich theme here and a fascinating way of interpreting the technological change

Top 10 Business Bestseller

Top 5 Tech Book of the Year

In her witty new book technology author and TED celebrity Rachel Botsman tells us why it did not work. Who Can You Trust? reveals some deep truths

Botsman guides the reader on an enjoyable accessible, but cautiously skeptical, tour through this hugely transformative, but barely recognized, shift in our sometimes-irrational approach to trust

As Botsman drives deeper and darker, she sheds more and more light, her book [is] rapidly becoming brilliant

Christie Watson shines the wisest of lights on the daily practice of caring for others. She celebrates kindness that is rooted in true respect for human dignity and equality – a kindness without which society would be a much sadder place. This piercingly tender book will make you laugh, cry and reflect on what life is all about

Moving, eloquent, funny, inspiring -- an urgent book for our times

Terrifically moving memoir of caring and compassion on the nursing front line

A remarkable book… Watson illustrates why a nurse has a harder job than 99 per cent of lawyers (I am one) and deserves to be paid more. Absolutely brilliant!

More than a memoir, The Language of Kindness exerts the power of a gripping novel threaded with science, philosophy, history and ethics. Like poetry, it resists paraphrase. A quick summary is out of the question, this brilliant life-changing book has to be experienced ... Watson is a funny, totally loveable narrator but this book is a serious shock to the system -- a journey to the underworld, our hard-working guide an observant Virgil to the 21st century

If you want to know what nursing is, then read this book

This is a phenomenal book, a love song for the NHS and its staff - the hundreds of millions of us who have gained from it throughout our lives have Christie Watson to thank for delivering it on our behalf. Passionate, political, heartbreaking, it is beautifully written in the fiercely honest language of kindness itself

Profoundly moving... urging us all to lead a life of greater compassion

An astonishing account of a profession defined by acts of care, compassion and kindness, and an urgent reminder of the need for these qualities in the NHS - and everyday life - from a nurse with 20 years' experience

A remarkable book - intelligent, impassioned, consistently moving - that can’t help but make readers revisit the sharpest spikes of life, where nurses often are. Christie Watson looks directly at the fragility of human existence, and the importance of what we choose to value. I can't think of many better uses of writing, nor of writing more likely to make me a better person

I defy anyone to finish this without weeping and giving thanks to the NHS ... An important book that should be on every reading list

Christie Watson’s book brings home the incredible strength and determination that nurses working in our critically underfunded NHS must possess – and how wildly underappreciated they are

Gripping and tender

A remarkable reflection on care, empathy and compassion ... packs massive emotional impact ... I urge you to read it

This tender, truth-telling memoir will break your heart into little pieces ... This book is a salient reminder that at some point we are all going to need care and we can only hope we'll get someone like Christie who understands the need for "sympathy, compassion, empathy" in our most vulnerable moments

The award-winning novelist writes about her 20 years as a nurse, taking us from life to death of the wards in a moving account

As Watson observes, the ability to step into another’s shoes is essential for both nurse and novelist. So too is an eagle eye, and it is the details that prove so unforgettable ... I found myself compelled to go back, and freshly moved and humbled

A highly emotional and eloquent retelling of different patients, staffers, experiences and departments ... A much-needed human voice

[Watson] writes with such considered awareness of medical procedure and resources, human frailty and resilience, that you know she dug deep for this book ... You are also privy to an extraordinary world and appreciate Watson's lasting belief: that most of us are inherently kind - and the better for showing it

The Language of Kindness is teeming with humanity ... [It] puts other memoirs to shame, by narrating an ordinary working life which nevertheless confronts the dark, the sublime, the transcendental

Her book makes harrowing, heart-rendering reading.

An engaging and authentic portrait of modern care ... Through Watson’s inclusion of relevant statistics and historical facts, as well as her meticulous observation skills, readers will better understand the value of nurses

Hypnotic prose ... quiet brilliance ... This is a wake-up book in the best possible way, a study in-the-round: amusing, hilarious even, enthralling and sad, and definitely an indictment of our time

We hear far less often from nurses and therapists… It’s time we heard their side of the story. And who better to tell it than this nurse-turned-award-winning literary novelist.

Anecdotal story-telling wrapped up in hypnotic prose… This is a wake-up book in the best possible way, a study in-the-round: amusing, hilarious even, enthralling and sad, and definitely an indictment of our time.

A remarkable book. I learned more in chapter 3 than I have in all the other books I’ve read this year. Watson illustrates why a nurse has a harder job than 99 per cent of lawyers (I am one) and deserves to be paid more. Absolutely brilliant!

The Language of Kindness flows so beautifully, and naturally. Christie adds real warmth to very factual, and medical information … I urge all of you to read this book

[Watson] beautifully describes the life-affirming impact of nurses doing and saying the right thing

[Watson] tells us things we need to know

[The Language of Kindness is] a tender and beautifully written account of how this process – learning how to be kind – challenges, teaches, sometimes harms, and then completes a person

At the heart of Christie Watson’s philanthropic memoir…lies a remarkable thesis on life, death and the kaleidoscopic narratives…that weave us together

This stunning read reminds us that nurses are human after all

Christie Watson's memoir of 20 years as an NHS nurse is completely absorbing. The best books tell us about life as well as lives and I've read nothing recently that I found so moving and, even in its descriptions of suffering and death, so uplifting. Watson has an eye for detail that is practical, compassionate and very often funny

Christie captures life as a nurse in the humblest manner, and anyone in or considering nursing is encouraged to read it

Watson’s prose…fizzes with real life, each story and encounter containing its own epic narrative sweep

This brilliant and profound book left an indelible mark on me this year

Moving and compassionate…The Language of Kindness… is a sensitive, perceptive and blunt account of a nurse’s journey

An astounding account of life as a nurse

You know she dug deep for this book… You are also privy to an extraordinary world and appreciate Watson’s lasting belief: that most of us are inherently kind – and the better for showing it

In Watson’s honest memoir, we are reminded that we are all made from the same fibres and are all in this together, exploring the human condition and learning the language of kindness

I defy anyone to finish this without weeping and giving thanks for the NHS… An important book that should be on every reading list.

The Language of Kindness could not be more compelling or more welcome. It's about how we survive, and about the people who help us do so

[A] powerful account of her life as a nurse… reading her memoir is a truly uplifting experience.

A nurse’s voice has never really been heard before on this scale. Now’s the time for it to ring loud.

[Watson] is an elegant, eloquent writer who brings an immediacy to her work. You are right there beside her all the way as she provides a fascinating insight into the trails and triumphs of life in an NHS hospital… a rallying call for kindness and compassion that every one of us should embrace.

Through Watson, we are taken on an absorbing, all-seeing tour through the doors of the hospital