"Public Service on the Brink" describes the denigration, unsuccessful reorganization, and general undermining of the public service and the public service ethos over 30 or more years. It attempts to explain how this has become a given in modern political life in the UK.

This book is about being alone in our heads. It gives a rare glimpse of what other people feel like: to read it is to reflect on our own experience of being. People hide behind their appearance in order to get by in the world. In this book men and women alike of all ages reach beneath their skin to reveal their inner self. Am I the same person day to day, year to year? Is there an essential core as the layers of life are peeled away? And to what extent do the different stages of life beg different kinds of answers to the question "what it feels like to be me"? Readers will see how similarly Julie aged 85 and Nina aged 14 address the questions and how the themes thread through all the contributions. Brilliant poems by Dannie Abse and Peter Phillips look back and forwards in their lives. An Israeli artist looks at himself in two photographs. Three commentators give their views: a professional counsellor, a distinguished scientist and Dr Jonathan Miller.