AUDIOBOOK
About
This is a book about an almost universal anxiety that rarely gets mentioned directly: an anxiety about what others think of us, about whether we're judged a success or a failure. With the help of philosophers, artists, and writers, Alain de Botton examines the origins of status anxiety before revealing ingenious ways in which people have been able to overcome their worries in the search for happiness. The result is a book that isn't just highly entertaining and thought-provoking but genuinely wise and helpful, too.
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Reviews
"A smart and amusing inquiry…Thick with social history and as funny as [it is] acute."
Boston Globe
"His richest, funniest, most heartfelt work yet, packed with erudition and brimming with an elegant originality of mind…An informative joy to read."
Seattle Times
"His insights float on a kind light irony…like pixilated Barthes…The pleasures of his prose come from following the play of his mind, the vast erudition, the succinct paraphrases, and vivid, often lyrical physical descriptions."
Boston Phoenix