The Doors Of Perception and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more


or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 
Start reading The Doors Of Perception on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

The Doors of Perception: And Heaven and Hell [Paperback]

Aldous Huxley , J G Ballard
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £5.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.00 (25%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 11 left in stock (more on the way).
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.
Want delivery by Wednesday, 22 May? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition £4.51  
Hardcover --  
Paperback £4.75  
Paperback, 2 Sep 2004 £5.99  
Audio, CD, Audiobook £14.45  
Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more.

Book Description

2 Sep 2004

WITH A FORWARD BY J. G. BALLARD

In 1953, in the presence of an investigator, Aldous Huxley took four-tenths of a gramme of mescalin, sat down and waited to see what would happen. When he opened his eyes everything, from the flowers in a vase to the creases in his trousers, was transformed. Huxley described his experience with breathtaking immediacy in The Doors of Perception. In its sequel Heaven and Hell, he goes on to explore the history and nature of mysticism. Still bristling with a sense of excitement and discovery, these illuminating and influential writings remain the most fascinating account of the visionary experience ever written.

(20031017)

Frequently Bought Together

The Doors of Perception: And Heaven and Hell + Island + Brave New World
Price For All Three: £18.57

Buy the selected items together
  • Island £6.29
  • Brave New World £6.29


Product details

  • Paperback: 144 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage Classics; New Ed edition (2 Sep 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0099458209
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099458203
  • Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 0.9 x 19.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,101 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Product Description

Review

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

"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 Times )

"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" (Daily Telegraph )

Book Description

May 2013 marks the 60th anniversary of Huxley's famous mescalin experiment and the genesis of this profoundly wise and humane book about his experience (20031017)

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 33 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book 16 Nov 1998
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This book blew my mind. Reading it was interesting, but the thoughts that it provoked were amazing - as he puts it (which seems to be the best way) it opened up an entirely new avenue of experience. Huxley's enormously wide breadth of knowledge of music, art and literature means he makes references to many works outside of mine (and I suspect most people's), and I didn't always agree with his theories, but these are tiny quibbles about a brilliant book that should be, IMHO, read by everyone.

The Doors of Perception is Huxley's account of an afternoon on which he sat down and, in a controlled experimental situation, took 0.4g of mescalin (a drug not dissimilar to lysergic acid). Heaven and Hell is his later reflections and the paths down which his thoughts went following this experience.

I generally read books simply for entertainment - this one gave me another perspective with which to look many things and left a strong, permanent and very postive effect in me.

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
55 of 57 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A glimpse of reality? 16 Mar 2006
Format:Paperback
The Doors of Perception is the account of Aldous Huxley's experience with the hallucinogenic drug mescalin. It is full of incredible insights into human nature and apprehensions of an ultimate reality. Though his mystic experience was drug-induced, it was nonetheless genuin and astonishing. It was on that Spring morning in 1953 that Aldous came to a complete understanding of exactly what Blake had meant when he said "If men's doors of perception were cleansed he would see everything as it is, infinite". This account is beautifully written (compiled by Huxley after the event) with the aid of his recording, thus ensuring nothing he said was lost.

To quote from the blurb: "Hugely influential, still bristling with a sense of excitement and discovery, these intense and illuminating writings remain the most fascinating accounts of the visionary experience ever written."

At only 50 pages in length (excluding the later-added 'Heaven and Hell'), The Doors of Perception is an amazing glimpse into what Huxley called 'Otherness'; "To be enlightened is to be aware, always, of total reality in its immanent otherness." I urge anyone interested by what's been said to pick up a copy (the Vintage Classic edition is your best buy) of this unique trip.

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking 14 July 2003
By S. Diment VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
"The Doors of Perception" is an account of Huxley’s experience of taking the hallucinatory drug Mescalin under controlled conditions, and the rather rambling but vivid thoughts and sensations that resulted. Huxley’s abilities as a writer enable him to describe them much more effectively than most people could.

"Heaven and Hell" is a post experience discussion of the effects of Mescalin. Huxley considers other ways of achieving the same visionary experience as the drug induces, such as starvation or meditation, and notes work by other writers and artists that suggests they must have had similar experiences. He compares these experiences through the work produced, and also considers how these experiences might relate to people who have some form of mental disorder, such as schizophrenia.

Despite the passage of time since the book was written, it hasn’t really dated. His reflections highlight the fact that our knowledge of how the human brain works has only advanced very slowly over the last half century.

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?   Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars Old man does hallucinogenics, writes terrible essays
Have you ever had to be the designated driver while your buddies got wasted? Watching them laugh at nothing and behave like asses while you're (unfortunately) stone cold sober is a... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Noel
2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting essays
The components of Doors of Perception are essentially structured essays on various aspects of the 'non-self' , the 'other world' or the hemisphere of the brain routinely filtered... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr N D Willis
4.0 out of 5 stars A facinating insight into another world
Having taken Mesculine recently in the form of cactus at a San Pedro ceremony in Bolivia I was put onto the book by a friend. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Pete Sequoia
4.0 out of 5 stars Saweet!
Great fun to read and see the world through the eyes of Aldous Huxley! I Highly recommend it for all those seeking something and they are not sure where to start.
Published 4 months ago by Vance Posein
1.0 out of 5 stars Really boring
Guy takes hallucanagenic drug and describes effects.Just repeats his experiences over and over.A pamphlet would be sufficient....a book is a major bore. Read more
Published 4 months ago by concerned shopper 1
5.0 out of 5 stars Prompt
This came well packaged and exactly as expected. Arrived promptly and in pristine condition. Would recommend. Read more
Published 4 months ago by qwerty
5.0 out of 5 stars A Welcome Return
I read this book many years ago, in the days when L.S.D. was going strong. It therefore had an interest to my generation. Read more
Published 6 months ago by R. V. Armitage
3.0 out of 5 stars Those Intrepid Seekers
Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell are two very brief yet entertainingly erudite essays. Read more
Published 6 months ago by S Kemp
5.0 out of 5 stars Mandatory reading
Huxley's description of what can certainly be called an interesting experience is, filtered trough the lens of his extensive and eclectic knowledge combined with his literary... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Kees
3.0 out of 5 stars Huxley is great writer, but perception is not a compilation of...
I enjoyed reading this book very much, but I didn't read it as an example of enlightenment or clearness of perception. I read it as a well written piece of literature. Read more
Published 10 months ago by rodgersviews
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Discussion Replies Latest Post
Is the Class System England's Last Taboo? 16 1 hour ago
Worlds obedience by cauchy3 8 1 hour ago
Should we teach our kids about the dangers of internet pornography? 14 2 hours ago
This book could...change the/your/our world... 31 2 hours ago
Swivel Eyed Loons - which party should they support now? 63 4 hours ago
So, Huhne and the missus are released from jail after serving 8 weeks of an eight month sentence... 31 5 hours ago
Share your views on local news - Be in with a chance of winning a £20 Amazon gift voucher! - Dissertation survey request 5 8 hours ago
Petition against govt cuts/changes affecting sick + disabled people 345 9 hours ago
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges