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The Premonitions Bureau

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The Premonitions Bureau

By: Sam Knight
Narrated by: Julian Rhind-Tutt
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Summary

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'Fascinating.' HILARY MANTEL
'Stunning . . . Brimming with mystery.' PATRICK RADDEN KEEFE
'Enthralling: a work of inspired, tireless and deeply compassionate curiosity.' HELEN GARNER

What if you had a vision that something terrible was going to happen?

A train crash, a department store fire, an assassination.

What if you could share your vision, and prevent a disaster?

In 1966, John Barker, a British psychiatrist working in an outdated British mental hospital, established the Premonitions Bureau to investigate this very idea. He would find a network of curious correspondents, and among them two highly gifted 'percipients'. Together, they predicted calamities and international incidents with uncanny accuracy. And then, they gave Barker their most disturbing warning: that he was about to die.

Sam Knight's book The Premonitions Bureau was a Sunday Times Bestseller w/c 07-05-2022

©2022 Sam Knight (P)2022 Faber Audio Europe Great Britain History & Culture Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Psychology & Interactions Technology & Society Technology Thought-Provoking Mental Health
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Critic reviews

‘Fascinating.’ Hilary Mantel

‘Terrific.’ New Scientist

‘Gripping.’ Financial Times
All stars
Most relevant
My favourite read this year. Fascinating and original. It has inspired me to do further research on the subject.

Pure genius

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Really interesting telling of a snippet of history. I love the science that never was aspect of it.

Really Interesting

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Very very enjoyable. Sam’s book captured me straight away. It is well written. Especially the descriptions of the Abervan disaster, it reminded me succinctly of that time and how I felt at the time. His treatment and descriptions of the mental hospital fire was so moving too, so much affecting and sad. A truly interesting book, it seems a great pity that we still in this day and age of moon-walking have only a brief understanding of how the mind works.

So good.

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This is so beautifully written - clever without being smug, funny without being cruel, sensitive without being sugary. I so wanted to believe the precipients, to believe in some kind of hole in the space time continuum. I loved being in the psychiatric hospital, on Fleet Street, even at Aberfan. He writes as though he was there - an incredible evocation of a time completely gone by but just within touching distance. I loved this.

Fabulous writing

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Very well read, but it had me confused (and I still am). From the blurb I’d assume this was fiction, some sort of supernatural suspense story (and the style of narration still has me unsure) but the further I get through it (we are now on air crashes) the more I’m coming to the conclusion this is more of a history book.

Confused, I thought this was fiction

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