Try free for 30 days

Preview

1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Doors of Perception

By: Aldous Huxley
Narrated by: Rudolph Schirmer
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $12.99

Buy Now for $12.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

The critically acclaimed novelist and social critic Aldous Huxley, describes his personal experimentation with the drug mescaline and explores the nature of visionary experience. The title of this classic comes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: "If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things through narrow chinks of his cavern."
©1954 Aldous Huxley (P)2009 BBC Audio

What listeners say about The Doors of Perception

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    166
  • 4 Stars
    53
  • 3 Stars
    27
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    141
  • 4 Stars
    33
  • 3 Stars
    23
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    6
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    148
  • 4 Stars
    32
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    5

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved the End

started a bit nebulous for me. but the end was oh so epic ! I get why this book is a classic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome Narrator

the best style of narration
easy to listen to and dynamic
excellent and interesting little book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

How to listen

This brief and very eloquent argument for the use of mescaline is quite convincing. I think anyone could benefit from this account of the substance even if I don't necessarily agree with it.

As for the performance, I found the audible breathing very distracting and the pace of reading dragged. That said, turning to 1.35x speed fixed both those issues.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great read

This was my second time reading/listening to this book, and I think I got more out of it this time around. It’s short and concise, yet profound.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Boring Phsyco Babble

This book about being a guinea pig taking a phsychotic drug in the 50s and its results on him was so boring it put me to sleep in 15 minutes. Couldn't finish it. Narrator droned on.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A tool of the Ancient Culture’s… not a habitual recreational drug

As a recreational Marijuana smoker of days gone by,
now a self-medicating user for chronic pain and neuralgia,
from spine injury requiring surgical procedure;

This is an extraordinarily interesting listen of same sensations - different plant product.

Wondering what Mr Huxley would think of the same experience in
today’s world.

Super enjoyable ear candy :-)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A Respected Author

The status of the author in the philosophical field gives the subject matter the necessary respect.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

should have read the blurb

Autobiography was not what I expected when I downloaded Huxley's books. Glad this one was the first one I read. Now the others have some context to Huxley's mind.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

We must be adventurous to grow.

We must be adventurous to grow because it is in the unknown that we find new answers that challenges our preconceived ideas of what is important.
This book is as important as ever, infact more so because right now we need innovation which ultimately involves a different perspective. Doors of perception illustrates this point well.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What a vibe

Huxley on mescaline, my new spirit animal. This short book is a rambling mess, I really enjoyed it.

Huxley flings around philosophical references like no ones business, so if you're into a comedy of that...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.