false 6007285 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg
The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work is an exploration of the joys and perils of the modern workplace, beautifully evoking what other people get up to all day – and all night – to make the frenzied contemporary world function. With a philosophical eye and his characteristic combination of wit and wisdom, Alain de Botton leads us on a journey around a deliberately eclectic range of occupations, from rocket science to biscuit manufacturing, accountancy to art – in the name of exploring what makes our jobs either fulfilling or soul-destroying

Along the way de Botton skilfully raises the big questions we all tend to ask of our work: What should I do with my life? How can I combine earning money with attaining fulfilment? What will I have achieved by the end of my career?

The book amounts to a celebration and investigation of something as central to a good life as love – but which we often find remarkably hard to reflect on properly. As de Botton points out, most of us are still working at jobs chosen for us by our sixteen-year-old selves. Here, then, is a perfect guide to some of the most vicious anxieties and enticing hopes thrown up by our progress through the working world.]]> 5293573 16 5361000 2 6 2009 The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work total:229|5:43|4:78|3:76|2:30|1:2| 229 817 912 82 13199 3.80 6701 1016 49244787 2116632 6007285 0241143535 9780241143537 10 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6007285.The_Pleasures_and_Sorrows_of_Work 3.86 28
The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work is an exploration of the joys and perils of the modern workplace, beautifully evoking what other people get up to all day – and all night – to make the frenzied contemporary world function. With a philosophical eye and his characteristic combination of wit and wisdom, Alain de Botton leads us on a journey around a deliberately eclectic range of occupations, from rocket science to biscuit manufacturing, accountancy to art – in the name of exploring what makes our jobs either fulfilling or soul-destroying

Along the way de Botton skilfully raises the big questions we all tend to ask of our work: What should I do with my life? How can I combine earning money with attaining fulfilment? What will I have achieved by the end of my career?

The book amounts to a celebration and investigation of something as central to a good life as love – but which we often find remarkably hard to reflect on properly. As de Botton points out, most of us are still working at jobs chosen for us by our sixteen-year-old selves. Here, then, is a perfect guide to some of the most vicious anxieties and enticing hopes thrown up by our progress through the working world.]]> 2009 4 2 false Tue Apr 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 14 10:14:38 -0700 2009 Thu Dec 10 11:40:52 -0800 2009 more...]]> 52246009 1113841 6007285 0241143535 9780241143537 10 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6007285.The_Pleasures_and_Sorrows_of_Work 3.57 229
The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work is an exploration of the joys and perils of the modern workplace, beautifully evoking what other people get up to all day – and all night – to make the frenzied contemporary world function. With a philosophical eye and his characteristic combination of wit and wisdom, Alain de Botton leads us on a journey around a deliberately eclectic range of occupations, from rocket science to biscuit manufacturing, accountancy to art – in the name of exploring what makes our jobs either fulfilling or soul-destroying

Along the way de Botton skilfully raises the big questions we all tend to ask of our work: What should I do with my life? How can I combine earning money with attaining fulfilment? What will I have achieved by the end of my career?

The book amounts to a celebration and investigation of something as central to a good life as love – but which we often find remarkably hard to reflect on properly. As de Botton points out, most of us are still working at jobs chosen for us by our sixteen-year-old selves. Here, then, is a perfect guide to some of the most vicious anxieties and enticing hopes thrown up by our progress through the working world.]]> 2009 5 2 false Sun Apr 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 10 18:22:34 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 10 18:28:22 -0700 2009
"In older, more hierarchical societies, an individual's fate had largely been decided by the accidents of birth; the difference between success and failure had not hung on ...more...]]> 51444011 1977500 5293573 037542444X 9780375424441 69 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344m/5293573.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344s/5293573.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5293573.The_Pleasures_and_Sorrows_of_Work 3.53 195 The Architecture of Happiness and How Proust Can Change Your Life comes this lyrical, erudite look at our world of work.

We spend most of our time at work, but what we do there rarely gets discussed in the sort of lyrical and descriptive prose our efforts surely deserve. Determined to correct this lapse, armed with a poetic perspective and his trademark philosophical sharpness, Alain de Botton heads out into the world of offices and factories, ready to take in the beauty, interest, and sheer strangeness of the modern workplace.

De Botton spends time in and around some less familiar work environments, including warehouses, container ports, rocket launch pads, and power stations, and follows scientists, landscape painters, accountants, cookie manufacturers, therapists, entrepreneurs, and aircraft salesmen as they do their jobs.

Along the way, de Botton tries to answer some of the most urgent questions we can pose about work: Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurable? What is its meaning? To what end do we daily exhaust not only ourselves but also our planet?

Equally intrigued by work’s pleasures and its pains, Alain de Botton offers a characteristically lucid and witty tour of the working day and night, in a book sure to inspire a range of life-changing and wise thoughts.]]> 2009 3 3 false Sun Apr 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 03 20:33:08 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 08 18:15:08 -0700 2009
It makes sense, then, to focus on work, but this book does not live up to the promise of its...more...]]> 56973022 166376 5293573 037542444X 9780375424441 69 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344m/5293573.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344s/5293573.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5293573.The_Pleasures_and_Sorrows_of_Work 3.57 229 The Architecture of Happiness and How Proust Can Change Your Life comes this lyrical, erudite look at our world of work.

We spend most of our time at work, but what we do there rarely gets discussed in the sort of lyrical and descriptive prose our efforts surely deserve. Determined to correct this lapse, armed with a poetic perspective and his trademark philosophical sharpness, Alain de Botton heads out into the world of offices and factories, ready to take in the beauty, interest, and sheer strangeness of the modern workplace.

De Botton spends time in and around some less familiar work environments, including warehouses, container ports, rocket launch pads, and power stations, and follows scientists, landscape painters, accountants, cookie manufacturers, therapists, entrepreneurs, and aircraft salesmen as they do their jobs.

Along the way, de Botton tries to answer some of the most urgent questions we can pose about work: Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurable? What is its meaning? To what end do we daily exhaust not only ourselves but also our planet?

Equally intrigued by work’s pleasures and its pains, Alain de Botton offers a characteristically lucid and witty tour of the working day and night, in a book sure to inspire a range of life-changing and wise thoughts.]]> 2009 5 6 false Thu Jun 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri May 22 11:06:21 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 13 17:22:43 -0700 2009 more...]]> 81535984 1625205 5293573 037542444X 9780375424441 69 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344m/5293573.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344s/5293573.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5293573.The_Pleasures_and_Sorrows_of_Work 3.57 229 The Architecture of Happiness and How Proust Can Change Your Life comes this lyrical, erudite look at our world of work.

We spend most of our time at work, but what we do there rarely gets discussed in the sort of lyrical and descriptive prose our efforts surely deserve. Determined to correct this lapse, armed with a poetic perspective and his trademark philosophical sharpness, Alain de Botton heads out into the world of offices and factories, ready to take in the beauty, interest, and sheer strangeness of the modern workplace.

De Botton spends time in and around some less familiar work environments, including warehouses, container ports, rocket launch pads, and power stations, and follows scientists, landscape painters, accountants, cookie manufacturers, therapists, entrepreneurs, and aircraft salesmen as they do their jobs.

Along the way, de Botton tries to answer some of the most urgent questions we can pose about work: Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurable? What is its meaning? To what end do we daily exhaust not only ourselves but also our planet?

Equally intrigued by work’s pleasures and its pains, Alain de Botton offers a characteristically lucid and witty tour of the working day and night, in a book sure to inspire a range of life-changing and wise thoughts.]]> 2009 3 0 false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Dec 19 22:09:30 -0800 2009 Sat Dec 19 22:14:58 -0800 2009 1. “At two in the morning, I switched on the light ...more...]]> 81329898 3041230 6007285 0241143535 9780241143537 10 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6007285.The_Pleasures_and_Sorrows_of_Work 3.57 229
The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work is an exploration of the joys and perils of the modern workplace, beautifully evoking what other people get up to all day – and all night – to make the frenzied contemporary world function. With a philosophical eye and his characteristic combination of wit and wisdom, Alain de Botton leads us on a journey around a deliberately eclectic range of occupations, from rocket science to biscuit manufacturing, accountancy to art – in the name of exploring what makes our jobs either fulfilling or soul-destroying

Along the way de Botton skilfully raises the big questions we all tend to ask of our work: What should I do with my life? How can I combine earning money with attaining fulfilment? What will I have achieved by the end of my career?

The book amounts to a celebration and investigation of something as central to a good life as love – but which we often find remarkably hard to reflect on properly. As de Botton points out, most of us are still working at jobs chosen for us by our sixteen-year-old selves. Here, then, is a perfect guide to some of the most vicious anxieties and enticing hopes thrown up by our progress through the working world.]]> 2009 4 0 false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Dec 17 15:22:58 -0800 2009 Thu Dec 17 15:37:28 -0800 2009 more...]]> 64942423 22752 5293573 037542444X 9780375424441 69 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344m/5293573.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344s/5293573.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5293573.The_Pleasures_and_Sorrows_of_Work 3.57 229 The Architecture of Happiness and How Proust Can Change Your Life comes this lyrical, erudite look at our world of work.

We spend most of our time at work, but what we do there rarely gets discussed in the sort of lyrical and descriptive prose our efforts surely deserve. Determined to correct this lapse, armed with a poetic perspective and his trademark philosophical sharpness, Alain de Botton heads out into the world of offices and factories, ready to take in the beauty, interest, and sheer strangeness of the modern workplace.

De Botton spends time in and around some less familiar work environments, including warehouses, container ports, rocket launch pads, and power stations, and follows scientists, landscape painters, accountants, cookie manufacturers, therapists, entrepreneurs, and aircraft salesmen as they do their jobs.

Along the way, de Botton tries to answer some of the most urgent questions we can pose about work: Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurable? What is its meaning? To what end do we daily exhaust not only ourselves but also our planet?

Equally intrigued by work’s pleasures and its pains, Alain de Botton offers a characteristically lucid and witty tour of the working day and night, in a book sure to inspire a range of life-changing and wise thoughts.]]> 2009 3 0 false Sat Jul 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 25 16:57:51 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 25 17:14:00 -0700 2009 more...]]> 63181758 28243 5293573 037542444X 9780375424441 69 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344m/5293573.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344s/5293573.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5293573.The_Pleasures_and_Sorrows_of_Work 3.57 229 The Architecture of Happiness and How Proust Can Change Your Life comes this lyrical, erudite look at our world of work.

We spend most of our time at work, but what we do there rarely gets discussed in the sort of lyrical and descriptive prose our efforts surely deserve. Determined to correct this lapse, armed with a poetic perspective and his trademark philosophical sharpness, Alain de Botton heads out into the world of offices and factories, ready to take in the beauty, interest, and sheer strangeness of the modern workplace.

De Botton spends time in and around some less familiar work environments, including warehouses, container ports, rocket launch pads, and power stations, and follows scientists, landscape painters, accountants, cookie manufacturers, therapists, entrepreneurs, and aircraft salesmen as they do their jobs.

Along the way, de Botton tries to answer some of the most urgent questions we can pose about work: Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurable? What is its meaning? To what end do we daily exhaust not only ourselves but also our planet?

Equally intrigued by work’s pleasures and its pains, Alain de Botton offers a characteristically lucid and witty tour of the working day and night, in a book sure to inspire a range of life-changing and wise thoughts.]]> 2009 2 0 false Sun Jul 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 12 14:21:26 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 12 15:07:04 -0700 2009 more...]]> 62555918 712626 5293573 037542444X 9780375424441 69 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344m/5293573.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344s/5293573.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5293573.The_Pleasures_and_Sorrows_of_Work 3.57 229 The Architecture of Happiness and How Proust Can Change Your Life comes this lyrical, erudite look at our world of work.

We spend most of our time at work, but what we do there rarely gets discussed in the sort of lyrical and descriptive prose our efforts surely deserve. Determined to correct this lapse, armed with a poetic perspective and his trademark philosophical sharpness, Alain de Botton heads out into the world of offices and factories, ready to take in the beauty, interest, and sheer strangeness of the modern workplace.

De Botton spends time in and around some less familiar work environments, including warehouses, container ports, rocket launch pads, and power stations, and follows scientists, landscape painters, accountants, cookie manufacturers, therapists, entrepreneurs, and aircraft salesmen as they do their jobs.

Along the way, de Botton tries to answer some of the most urgent questions we can pose about work: Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurable? What is its meaning? To what end do we daily exhaust not only ourselves but also our planet?

Equally intrigued by work’s pleasures and its pains, Alain de Botton offers a characteristically lucid and witty tour of the working day and night, in a book sure to inspire a range of life-changing and wise thoughts.]]> 2009 3 1 false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 18:39:23 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 19:13:58 -0700 2009 more...]]> 58956681 1261470 6007285 0241143535 9780241143537 10 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6007285.The_Pleasures_and_Sorrows_of_Work 3.57 229
The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work is an exploration of the joys and perils of the modern workplace, beautifully evoking what other people get up to all day – and all night – to make the frenzied contemporary world function. With a philosophical eye and his characteristic combination of wit and wisdom, Alain de Botton leads us on a journey around a deliberately eclectic range of occupations, from rocket science to biscuit manufacturing, accountancy to art – in the name of exploring what makes our jobs either fulfilling or soul-destroying

Along the way de Botton skilfully raises the big questions we all tend to ask of our work: What should I do with my life? How can I combine earning money with attaining fulfilment? What will I have achieved by the end of my career?

The book amounts to a celebration and investigation of something as central to a good life as love – but which we often find remarkably hard to reflect on properly. As de Botton points out, most of us are still working at jobs chosen for us by our sixteen-year-old selves. Here, then, is a perfect guide to some of the most vicious anxieties and enticing hopes thrown up by our progress through the working world.]]> 2009 4 1 false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 22:45:17 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 22:48:13 -0700 2009
...more...]]> 80433466 655378 5293573 037542444X 9780375424441 69 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344m/5293573.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344s/5293573.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5293573.The_Pleasures_and_Sorrows_of_Work 3.57 229 The Architecture of Happiness and How Proust Can Change Your Life comes this lyrical, erudite look at our world of work.

We spend most of our time at work, but what we do there rarely gets discussed in the sort of lyrical and descriptive prose our efforts surely deserve. Determined to correct this lapse, armed with a poetic perspective and his trademark philosophical sharpness, Alain de Botton heads out into the world of offices and factories, ready to take in the beauty, interest, and sheer strangeness of the modern workplace.

De Botton spends time in and around some less familiar work environments, including warehouses, container ports, rocket launch pads, and power stations, and follows scientists, landscape painters, accountants, cookie manufacturers, therapists, entrepreneurs, and aircraft salesmen as they do their jobs.

Along the way, de Botton tries to answer some of the most urgent questions we can pose about work: Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurable? What is its meaning? To what end do we daily exhaust not only ourselves but also our planet?

Equally intrigued by work’s pleasures and its pains, Alain de Botton offers a characteristically lucid and witty tour of the working day and night, in a book sure to inspire a range of life-changing and wise thoughts.]]> 2009 5 0 false Wed Dec 09 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Dec 09 12:18:38 -0800 2009 Thu Dec 10 13:29:17 -0800 2009 more...]]> 59967608 1607804 5293573 037542444X 9780375424441 69 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344m/5293573.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344s/5293573.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5293573.The_Pleasures_and_Sorrows_of_Work 3.57 229 The Architecture of Happiness and How Proust Can Change Your Life comes this lyrical, erudite look at our world of work.

We spend most of our time at work, but what we do there rarely gets discussed in the sort of lyrical and descriptive prose our efforts surely deserve. Determined to correct this lapse, armed with a poetic perspective and his trademark philosophical sharpness, Alain de Botton heads out into the world of offices and factories, ready to take in the beauty, interest, and sheer strangeness of the modern workplace.

De Botton spends time in and around some less familiar work environments, including warehouses, container ports, rocket launch pads, and power stations, and follows scientists, landscape painters, accountants, cookie manufacturers, therapists, entrepreneurs, and aircraft salesmen as they do their jobs.

Along the way, de Botton tries to answer some of the most urgent questions we can pose about work: Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurable? What is its meaning? To what end do we daily exhaust not only ourselves but also our planet?

Equally intrigued by work’s pleasures and its pains, Alain de Botton offers a characteristically lucid and witty tour of the working day and night, in a book sure to inspire a range of life-changing and wise thoughts.]]> 2009 2 0 false Thu Jun 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 16 19:09:49 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 18 09:18:09 -0700 2009 more...]]> 75315165 267189 5293573 037542444X 9780375424441 69 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344m/5293573.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344s/5293573.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5293573.The_Pleasures_and_Sorrows_of_Work 3.57 229 The Architecture of Happiness and How Proust Can Change Your Life comes this lyrical, erudite look at our world of work.

We spend most of our time at work, but what we do there rarely gets discussed in the sort of lyrical and descriptive prose our efforts surely deserve. Determined to correct this lapse, armed with a poetic perspective and his trademark philosophical sharpness, Alain de Botton heads out into the world of offices and factories, ready to take in the beauty, interest, and sheer strangeness of the modern workplace.

De Botton spends time in and around some less familiar work environments, including warehouses, container ports, rocket launch pads, and power stations, and follows scientists, landscape painters, accountants, cookie manufacturers, therapists, entrepreneurs, and aircraft salesmen as they do their jobs.

Along the way, de Botton tries to answer some of the most urgent questions we can pose about work: Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurable? What is its meaning? To what end do we daily exhaust not only ourselves but also our planet?

Equally intrigued by work’s pleasures and its pains, Alain de Botton offers a characteristically lucid and witty tour of the working day and night, in a book sure to inspire a range of life-changing and wise thoughts.]]> 2009 4 0 false Sat Oct 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 21 18:47:11 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 24 22:44:51 -0700 2009 more...]]> 60624103 84282 6007285 0241143535 9780241143537 10 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6007285.The_Pleasures_and_Sorrows_of_Work 3.57 229
The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work is an exploration of the joys and perils of the modern workplace, beautifully evoking what other people get up to all day – and all night – to make the frenzied contemporary world function. With a philosophical eye and his characteristic combination of wit and wisdom, Alain de Botton leads us on a journey around a deliberately eclectic range of occupations, from rocket science to biscuit manufacturing, accountancy to art – in the name of exploring what makes our jobs either fulfilling or soul-destroying

Along the way de Botton skilfully raises the big questions we all tend to ask of our work: What should I do with my life? How can I combine earning money with attaining fulfilment? What will I have achieved by the end of my career?

The book amounts to a celebration and investigation of something as central to a good life as love – but which we often find remarkably hard to reflect on properly. As de Botton points out, most of us are still working at jobs chosen for us by our sixteen-year-old selves. Here, then, is a perfect guide to some of the most vicious anxieties and enticing hopes thrown up by our progress through the working world.]]> 2009 5 0 false Fri Jun 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 22 07:19:21 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 29 11:34:32 -0700 2009 more...]]> 70553980 216786 5293573 037542444X 9780375424441 69 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344m/5293573.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344s/5293573.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5293573.The_Pleasures_and_Sorrows_of_Work 3.57 229 The Architecture of Happiness and How Proust Can Change Your Life comes this lyrical, erudite look at our world of work.

We spend most of our time at work, but what we do there rarely gets discussed in the sort of lyrical and descriptive prose our efforts surely deserve. Determined to correct this lapse, armed with a poetic perspective and his trademark philosophical sharpness, Alain de Botton heads out into the world of offices and factories, ready to take in the beauty, interest, and sheer strangeness of the modern workplace.

De Botton spends time in and around some less familiar work environments, including warehouses, container ports, rocket launch pads, and power stations, and follows scientists, landscape painters, accountants, cookie manufacturers, therapists, entrepreneurs, and aircraft salesmen as they do their jobs.

Along the way, de Botton tries to answer some of the most urgent questions we can pose about work: Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurable? What is its meaning? To what end do we daily exhaust not only ourselves but also our planet?

Equally intrigued by work’s pleasures and its pains, Alain de Botton offers a characteristically lucid and witty tour of the working day and night, in a book sure to inspire a range of life-changing and wise thoughts.]]> 2009 2 2 false Tue Sep 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 08 20:57:48 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 17 07:55:57 -0700 2009 more...]]> 58864308 159184 5293573 037542444X 9780375424441 69 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344m/5293573.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344s/5293573.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5293573.The_Pleasures_and_Sorrows_of_Work 3.57 229 The Architecture of Happiness and How Proust Can Change Your Life comes this lyrical, erudite look at our world of work.

We spend most of our time at work, but what we do there rarely gets discussed in the sort of lyrical and descriptive prose our efforts surely deserve. Determined to correct this lapse, armed with a poetic perspective and his trademark philosophical sharpness, Alain de Botton heads out into the world of offices and factories, ready to take in the beauty, interest, and sheer strangeness of the modern workplace.

De Botton spends time in and around some less familiar work environments, including warehouses, container ports, rocket launch pads, and power stations, and follows scientists, landscape painters, accountants, cookie manufacturers, therapists, entrepreneurs, and aircraft salesmen as they do their jobs.

Along the way, de Botton tries to answer some of the most urgent questions we can pose about work: Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurable? What is its meaning? To what end do we daily exhaust not only ourselves but also our planet?

Equally intrigued by work’s pleasures and its pains, Alain de Botton offers a characteristically lucid and witty tour of the working day and night, in a book sure to inspire a range of life-changing and wise thoughts.]]> 2009 2 0 false Sun Jun 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 09:47:05 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 09:54:38 -0700 2009 more...]]> 66415556 1440073 5293573 037542444X 9780375424441 69 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344m/5293573.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344s/5293573.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5293573.The_Pleasures_and_Sorrows_of_Work 3.57 229 The Architecture of Happiness and How Proust Can Change Your Life comes this lyrical, erudite look at our world of work.

We spend most of our time at work, but what we do there rarely gets discussed in the sort of lyrical and descriptive prose our efforts surely deserve. Determined to correct this lapse, armed with a poetic perspective and his trademark philosophical sharpness, Alain de Botton heads out into the world of offices and factories, ready to take in the beauty, interest, and sheer strangeness of the modern workplace.

De Botton spends time in and around some less familiar work environments, including warehouses, container ports, rocket launch pads, and power stations, and follows scientists, landscape painters, accountants, cookie manufacturers, therapists, entrepreneurs, and aircraft salesmen as they do their jobs.

Along the way, de Botton tries to answer some of the most urgent questions we can pose about work: Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurable? What is its meaning? To what end do we daily exhaust not only ourselves but also our planet?

Equally intrigued by work’s pleasures and its pains, Alain de Botton offers a characteristically lucid and witty tour of the working day and night, in a book sure to inspire a range of life-changing and wise thoughts.]]> 2009 5 0 false Thu Aug 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 06 07:45:40 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 13 11:56:58 -0700 2009
Let Mr. de Botton and his photographer jolt you from your sun-soaked torpor; ...more...]]> 65553775 1008236 5293573 037542444X 9780375424441 69 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344m/5293573.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344s/5293573.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5293573.The_Pleasures_and_Sorrows_of_Work 3.57 229 The Architecture of Happiness and How Proust Can Change Your Life comes this lyrical, erudite look at our world of work.

We spend most of our time at work, but what we do there rarely gets discussed in the sort of lyrical and descriptive prose our efforts surely deserve. Determined to correct this lapse, armed with a poetic perspective and his trademark philosophical sharpness, Alain de Botton heads out into the world of offices and factories, ready to take in the beauty, interest, and sheer strangeness of the modern workplace.

De Botton spends time in and around some less familiar work environments, including warehouses, container ports, rocket launch pads, and power stations, and follows scientists, landscape painters, accountants, cookie manufacturers, therapists, entrepreneurs, and aircraft salesmen as they do their jobs.

Along the way, de Botton tries to answer some of the most urgent questions we can pose about work: Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurable? What is its meaning? To what end do we daily exhaust not only ourselves but also our planet?

Equally intrigued by work’s pleasures and its pains, Alain de Botton offers a characteristically lucid and witty tour of the working day and night, in a book sure to inspire a range of life-changing and wise thoughts.]]> 2009 3 0 false Thu Jul 30 11:27:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 30 11:27:00 -0700 2009 Houston Chronicle). His erudition, sardonic sense of humor, and elegant writing frame the fascinating, if elusive, questions he sets out to answer. Though the New York Times Book Review considered...more...]]> 62023104 2002279 5293573 037542444X 9780375424441 69 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344m/5293573.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344s/5293573.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5293573.The_Pleasures_and_Sorrows_of_Work 3.57 229 The Architecture of Happiness and How Proust Can Change Your Life comes this lyrical, erudite look at our world of work.

We spend most of our time at work, but what we do there rarely gets discussed in the sort of lyrical and descriptive prose our efforts surely deserve. Determined to correct this lapse, armed with a poetic perspective and his trademark philosophical sharpness, Alain de Botton heads out into the world of offices and factories, ready to take in the beauty, interest, and sheer strangeness of the modern workplace.

De Botton spends time in and around some less familiar work environments, including warehouses, container ports, rocket launch pads, and power stations, and follows scientists, landscape painters, accountants, cookie manufacturers, therapists, entrepreneurs, and aircraft salesmen as they do their jobs.

Along the way, de Botton tries to answer some of the most urgent questions we can pose about work: Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurable? What is its meaning? To what end do we daily exhaust not only ourselves but also our planet?

Equally intrigued by work’s pleasures and its pains, Alain de Botton offers a characteristically lucid and witty tour of the working day and night, in a book sure to inspire a range of life-changing and wise thoughts.]]> 2009 4 0 true Wed Jul 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 03 09:58:54 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 25 14:00:50 -0700 2009
Through an exploration and r...more...]]> 67584669 727301 5293573 037542444X 9780375424441 69 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344m/5293573.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255785344s/5293573.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5293573.The_Pleasures_and_Sorrows_of_Work 3.57 229 The Architecture of Happiness and How Proust Can Change Your Life comes this lyrical, erudite look at our world of work.

We spend most of our time at work, but what we do there rarely gets discussed in the sort of lyrical and descriptive prose our efforts surely deserve. Determined to correct this lapse, armed with a poetic perspective and his trademark philosophical sharpness, Alain de Botton heads out into the world of offices and factories, ready to take in the beauty, interest, and sheer strangeness of the modern workplace.

De Botton spends time in and around some less familiar work environments, including warehouses, container ports, rocket launch pads, and power stations, and follows scientists, landscape painters, accountants, cookie manufacturers, therapists, entrepreneurs, and aircraft salesmen as they do their jobs.

Along the way, de Botton tries to answer some of the most urgent questions we can pose about work: Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurable? What is its meaning? To what end do we daily exhaust not only ourselves but also our planet?

Equally intrigued by work’s pleasures and its pains, Alain de Botton offers a characteristically lucid and witty tour of the working day and night, in a book sure to inspire a range of life-changing and wise thoughts.]]> 2009 4 0 false Tue Sep 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 04:27:29 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 08 16:03:14 -0700 2009
I was expected a book along the lines of "I have a theory about working and am going to write in essay format to define it." Couldn't be further from the truth. De Botton writes in prose; he presents his ideas as a stream-of-events-and-consciousness as he follows th...more...]]> 8 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=6007285