Humans make the best search engines - the books, knowledge and expertise of Waterstones' stores are at booklovers' fingertips. Waterstones began in 1982 under the aegis of its founder, Tim Waterstone, intent on revolutionising a then somewhat staid British bookselling landscape. Dedicated to bringing books back into the cultural conversation, Waterstone’s fusion of literary range, author events, iconic bookshops and gifted booksellers transformed the idea of what a bookshop could be. In tandem with the steady growth of strong contemporary fiction and narrative non-fiction, the company moved from strength to strength, later under the direction of CEO James Daunt successfully fending off the threat of aggressive online competition and the brief rise of eReaders.
