My god, what a load of brownnosing shit. I understand the importance of working well with your manager but this book seems to place them on some Christ-like pedestal and says stuff like your manager's needs should take priority over yours. Not a chance, they are buying my labour. Not my soul.

Starting note: politically fuelled murder is wrong. That being said, it was interesting to read the reasoning carried by one of the most high profile political murderers of the 20th century. Whilst I don't agree with him, he puts his argument eloquently and is clearly an educated person. I've lived in India and hearing the hatred that this man carries for Gandhi is interesting, especially when you consider how beloved Gandhi still is today.

It's all about flowers, not growing plants or veg in pots like I expected. Be aware. Not badly written though.

I'd grown up knowing of the radio show, and watched the film when it came out, so when I got the chance to read the actual book, I jumped at the chance.


I absolutely loved this book - it had the exact dry comedy about it that I expected it to. Lots of simple jokes - "What does it feel like to be drunk? Ask a glass of water." and lots of more clever humour too.

I'd definitely recommend it to anyone.

This book is hilarious. I'd never laughed so hard. You'll love this, and develop a fondness for upright pianos as you do!

This book can't decide if it wants to be a memoir, hard science, or pop science, and as such tries to combine the three poorly.

"‘What the hell is going on with our patients?’ asked Sally, my fellow junior doctor, as we worked our way through a bottle of wine. ‘You do realise more of them have died this month than lived?’"

I've read a lot of medical memoirs and this is the best of the lot. Clarke frames everything intelligently and coherently, but doesn't lose the sense of humanity that you expect from both this style of book and from doctors as a profession.

This book has made me smile, made me cry, and most of all, filled me with rage. The NHS is a wonderful thing, and after reading this, I'm going to fight a little harder for it when I can.

"James explained that Gary was unlikely to ever be judged as fit for release by a parole board due to impulsive behaviour that was getting him into regular scrapes with other prisoners. He’d stolen inmates’ food from their trays at meal times; sometimes he ate it and other times threw it across the landing – risky when your fellow diners like to enforce mealtime etiquette by punching you in the face."

This is a genuinely great book. Daynes doesn't pull punches so if you're an emotionally fragile person perhaps this isn't for you, but if you can manage it, it's a fascinating insight into the human condition and the systems that people exist in. You'll smile, you'll cry, and you'll be filled with uncontrollable rage. I don't know anything about her but Jeane is in my prayers. If you enjoyed Ronson's The Psychopath Test, you'll absolutely adore this. Let me end this review with the book's closing words:

"Prevention is always better than a cure. By looking deeper at the root causes of extreme behaviour, we can start to write new beginnings."