When Jonathan Aitken was in prison, he experienced a religious conversion. When he emerged into the light of day, he headed for Oxford where he read for and obtained a degree in theology.

The Psalms have assumed a quite exceptional importance in his life. The Psalms are at the very heart of the Christian life and its liturgy - in them is found the whole range of human emotion, of triumph and despair.

In this new book, Aitken expounds his own view of the Psalms, the fruit of much prayer, study and reflection. He has busy, stressed modern men and women and the forefront of his mind as he writes. Aitken was a successful businessman and financier before he ever entered government as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. He is fully aware of the enormous pressures on people in countless walks of life - as speed of communication increases and more and more people are obliged to live with targets hanging over them like the sword of Damocles.

Aitken writes ‘out of the depths’: he has experienced as profoundly as any of us the heights of adulation and the depths of disgrace and shame and he understands the meaning of repentance. This is an account of the Psalms tried and tested in raw human emotion.

This book is designed to be kept in the top drawer of a businessman’s desk, the satchel of a student, or the briefcase of a top flight lady executive.