The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work

Description

Alain de Botton brings his trademark powers of insight to what most of us do all day- work Work makes us. Without it we are at a loss; in work we hope to have a measure of control over our lives. Yet for many of us, it is a straitjacket from which we cannot free ourselves. Criss-crossing the world to visit workplaces both ordinary and extraordinary, and drawing on the wit and wisdom of great artists, writers and thinkers, Alain de Botton explores our love-hate relationship with our jobs, to explain why it is we do what we do all day, and through sympathy, humour and insight, to seek to help us make the most of it.

Alain de Botton was born in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1969. He is the author of Essays in Love, The Romantic Movement, Kiss and Tell, How Proust Can Change Your Life, The Consolations of Philosophy, The Art of Travel, Status Anxiety, The Architecture of Happiness, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, A Week at the Airport, Religion for Atheists, How to Think More About Sex, Art as Therapy, and The News: A User's Manual. Alain is a bestselling author in 30 countries. He lives in London, where he runs The School of Life and Living Architecture. Alain de Botton's first novel in nearly two decades, The Course of Love, will be published in April 2016.

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 * Mail on Sunday * Brilliant, enormously engaging * Guardian *