Client details
Alain de Botton
| Caroline Dawnay |
Alain de Botton was born in 1969. He is the author of three novels, Essays in Love, The Romantic Movement and Kiss and Tell. He has also written How Proust can Change Your Life, The Consolations of Philosophy, The Art of Travel, Status Anxiety, The Architecture of Happiness andThe Pleasures and Sorrows of Work. In February 2003 he was made a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres, one of France’s highest artistic honours; in November of the same year, he was awarded the Prix Europeen de l’Essai Charles Veillon. Latest publication: RELIGION FOR ATHEISTS, Hamish Hamilton, 26 January 2011 The boring debate between fundamentalist believers and non-believers is finally moved on by Alain de Botton's inspiring new book, which boldly argues that the supernatural claims of religion are of course entirely false - and yet that religions still have important things to teach the secular world. Rather than mocking religions, agnostics and atheists should instead steal from them - because they're packed with good ideas on how we live and arrange our societies. Blending deep respect with total impiety, de Botton (a non-believer) proposes that we should look to religions for insights into how to build a sense of community, make our relationships last, get more out of art, overcome feelings of envy and inadequacy, and much more. For too long non-believers have faced a stark choice between either swallowing peculiar doctrines or doing away with consoling and beautiful rituals and ideas. At last Alain de Botton has fashioned a far more interesting and truly helpful alternative. Reviews for The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work: 'De Botton's wit and powers of ironic observation are on display throughout what is a stylish and original book. The workplace brings out the best in his writing' Sunday Times 'Timely, wonderfully readable. De Botton has pretty much got to the bottom of the subject' Spectator 'Terribly funny, touches us all' Daily Mail 'Brilliant, enormously engaging' Guardian
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| Publication Details | Notes |
|---|---|
| THE PLEASURES AND SORROWS OF WORK 2009 Hamish Hamilton | An exploration of the joys and perils of the modern workplace, beautifully evoking what other people get up to all day – and night – to make the frenzied contemporary world function. |
| A WEEK AT THE AIRPORT 2009 Profile | Taking the reader through the departures lounge, ‘airside’ and the arrivals hall, de Botton shows with his usual combination of wit and wisdom that spending time in an airport can be more useful and more revealing than we might think. |
| THE ARCHITECTURE OF HAPPINESS 2005 Hamish Hamilton | The psychology of men and women in love is explored through the story of a relationship. |
| STATUS ANXIETY 2004 Hamish Hamilton | Alain de Botton asks, with lucidity and charm, where our worries about questions of status come from and what, if anything, we can do to reduce them. |
| THE ART OF TRAVEL 2002 Hamish Hamilton | The bestselling author now journeys into the world of travel, focusing on how many of us look forward to 'getting away from it all' yet often feel wildly disappointed when we get there. |
| THE CONSOLATIONS OF PHILOSOPHY 2000 Hamish Hamilton | The book amounts to a guide to wisdom - as well as to the practical utility of philosophy. |
| HOW PROUST CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE 1997 Picador | A vivid portrait of the eccentric yet deeply sympathetic author is built up out of extracts from his letters, essays and fiction and is combined with a commentary on the power of literature to change our lives. A self-help book like few others. |
| ESSAYS IN LOVE 1994 Macmillan | A novel about two young people, who meet on an airplane between London and Paris and rapidly fall in love. |
