Alain de Botton Books

Emotional intelligence affects every aspect of the way we live, from romantic to professional relationships, from our inner resilience to our social success. It is the ultimate soft skill of the twenty-first century. Drawing on his work in the hugely successful School of Life organisation, Alain de Botton presents a compendium of emotional intelligence. Using his trademark mixture of analysis, anecdote, insight and practical wisdom, he considers how we interact with each and with ourselves, and how we can do so better. From the reigning master of popular philosophy, this is an essential look at the skill set that defines our modern lives.

An anthology of materials drawn from the work of The School of Life Press and The School of Life Blog. Brings together ten years of essential and transformative research on emotional intelligence, with practical topics including: how to understand yourself; how to master the dilemmas of relationships; how to become more effective at work; how to endure failure; how to grow more serene and resilient

Two authorities on popular culture reveal the ways in which art can enhance mood and enrich lives - now available in paperback This passionate, thought-provoking, often funny, and always-accessible book proposes a new way of looking at art, suggesting that it can be useful, relevant, and therapeutic. Through practical examples, the world-renowned authors argue that certain great works of art have clues as to how to manage the tensions and confusions of modern life. Chapters on love, nature, money, and politics show how art can help with many common difficulties, from forging good relationships to coming to terms with mortality.

How does love survive and thrive in the long term? In Edinburgh, Rabih and Kirsten, fall in love, get married, have children. But this is their story after the first flush of infatuation. As Rabih and Kirsten reform their ideals under the pressures of an average existence, they discover that love is a skill that needs to be learned, and not just experienced.

Charting the progress of an affair, from first kiss to argument and reconciliation, from intimacy and tenderness to anxiety, this is a wholly modern attempt to define the age-old dilemmas of the heart by detailing the highs and lows of contemporary romance.

Following on frombest-selling The School of Life: An Emotional Education (2020), ATherapeutic Journey compiles extracts from some of our recent titlesand describes the arc of a journey - from breakdown and collapse toconvalescence and recovery. It is intended as both a practical guide and a sourceof consolation and friendship during what might be some of our loneliest, mostanguished moments. The book discusses becoming unwell, imagining that one has leteveryone down and losing direction and hope. It also speaks to us aboutredemption: about regaining the thread, rediscovering meaning and finding a wayback to connection, warmth and joy. A Therapeutic Journey is ultimately, a book about resilience. It insists that wecannot allow terror, self-hatred and sadness to have their victories over usand that we can always, so long as we think matters through with sufficientcreativity and gentleness, identify reasons to live.

Alain de Botton pairs six philosophers - Socrates, Epicurus, Seneca, Montaigne, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche - with six everyday problems to which they are able to give the most helpful and fascinating answers.

We all worry about what others think of us. We all long to succeed and fear failure. We all suffer � to a greater or lesser degree, usually privately and with embarrassment � from status anxiety. For the first time, Alain de Botton gives a name to this universal condition and sets out to investigate both its origins and possible solutions. He looks at history, philosophy, economics, art and politics � and reveals the many ingenious ways that great minds have overcome their worries. The result is a book that is not only entertaining and thought-provoking � but genuinely wise and helpful as well.

Looks at the psychology of men and women in love, as it portrays a modern relationship between Alice and Eric. Some of the themes explored include the question of knowing one`s partner in a relationship, the issue of power between people, and the link between love, sex and shopping.

Rooted in the idea that architecture and interior design have the power to influence how we feel and that we are, for better and for worse, different people in different buildings, this book suggests how we might learn to build better, more attractive dwellings in which we would stand a higher chance of happiness.

An exploration of the human desire to travel presents a series of essays on airports, museums, landscapes, holiday romances, and hotel mini-bars, offering suggestions on how to render travel more fulfilling. "Aside from love, few activities seem to promise us as much happiness as going traveling: taking off for somewhere else, somewhere far from home, a place with more interesting weather, customs, and landscapes. But although we are inundated with advice on where to travel, few people seem to talk about why we should go and how we can become more fulfilled by doing so. In The Art of Travel, Alain de Botton, author of How Proust Can Change Your Life, explores what the point of travel might be and modestly suggests how we can learn to be a little happier in our travels."--BOOK JACKET.

For anyone who ever wondered what Marcel Proust had in mind when he wrote the one-and-a-quarter-million words of In Search of Lost Time (while bedridden, no less), Alain de Botton has the answer. For, in this stylish, erudite and frequently hilarious book, de Botton dips deeply into Proust’s life and work—his fiction, letter, and conversations—and distills from them that rare self-help manual: one that is actually helpful.Here, tendered in prose almost as luminous as it’s subject’s, is advice on cultivating friendships, suffering successfully, recognizing love and understanding why you should never sleep with someone on the first date. And here, too, is a generously perceptive literary biography that suggests that the master is as relevant today as he was in fin de siècle Paris. At once slyly ironic and genuinely wise, How Proust Can Change Your Life is an unqualified delight.

We spend most of our waking lives at work - but surprisingly little gets written about what makes work both one of the most exciting and most painful of all our activities. The Pleasures and Sorrows of Workis 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.

The news is everywhere and we check it constantly - but what is it doing to our minds? The news occupies the same dominant position in modern society as religion once did, but we rarely consider its impact on us. In this dazzling new book, Alain de Botton, the bestselling author of Religion for Atheists, takes twenty-five archetypal news stories - from an aircrash to a murder, a celebrity interview to a political scandal - and submits them to unusually intense analysis. He raises questions like: How come disaster stories are often so uplifting? What makes the love lives of celebrities so interesting? Why do we enjoy politicians being brought down? Why are upheavals in far off lands often so . . . boring? De Botton has written the ultimate manual for our news-addicted age, one sure to bring calm, understanding and a measure of sanity to our daily (and sometimes even hourly) interactions with the news machine. Praise for Religion for Atheists 'Smart and stimulating . . . a sensitive analysis of the deeply human needs that faith meets.' Financial Times 'A serious and optimistic set of practical ideas that could improve and alter the way we live . . . energetic and on the side of the angels.' Jeanette Winterson, The Times 'Packed with tantalizing goads to thought and playful prompts to action.' Independent

In the summer of 2009, Alain de Botton was installed in the middle of Heathrow's Terminal Five on a raised platform with a laptop connected to screens, enabling passengers to see what he was writing and to come and share their stories. He provides an extraordinary mediation upon the nature of place, time and our daily lives.

What if religions are neither all true or all nonsense? The boring debate between fundamentalist believers and non-believers is finally moved on by Alain's inspiring new book, which boldly argues that the supernatural claims of religion are of course entirely false – and yet that religions still have some very important things to teach the secular world. Religion for Atheists suggests that rather than mocking religions, agnostics and atheists should instead steal from them – because they're packed with good ideas on how we might live and arrange our societies. Blending deep respect with total impiety, Alain (a non-believer himself) proposes that we should look to religions for insights into, among other concerns, how to: - build a sense of community - make our relationships last - overcome feelings of envy and inadequacy - escape the twenty-four hour media - go travelling - get more out of art, architecture and music - and create new businesses designed to address our emotional needs. For too long non-believers have faced a stark choice between either swallowing lots of peculiar doctrines or doing away with a range of consoling and beautiful rituals and ideas. At last, in Religion for Atheists, Alain has fashioned a far more interesting and truly helpful alternative.

" ... [In] this rigorous and supremely honest book Alain de Botton helps us navigate the intimate and exciting yet often confusing and difficult experience that is sex. Few of us tend to feel we're entirely normal when it comes to sex, and what we're supposed to be feeling rarely matches up with the reality. This book argues that 21st-century sex is ultimately fated to be a balancing act between love and desire, and adventure and commitment. ..." --Back cover.

"Progress. It is one of the animating concepts of the modern era. From the Enlightenment onwards, the West has had an enduring belief that through the evolution of institutions, innovations, and ideas, the human condition is improving. This process is supposedly accelerating as new technologies, individual freedoms, and the spread of global norms empower individuals and societies around the world. But is progress inevitable? Its critics argue that human civilization has become different, not better, over the last two and a half centuries. What is seen as a breakthrough or innovation in one period becomes a setback or limitation in another. In short, progress is an ideology not a fact; a way of thinking about the world as opposed to a description of reality. In the seventeenth semi-annual Munk Debates, which was held in Toronto on November 6, 2015, pioneering cognitive scientist Steven Pinker and best-selling author Matt Ridley squared off against noted philosopher Alain de Botton and best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell to debate whether humankind's best days lie ahead, "--Amazon.com.

A revolutionary, yet utterly practical blueprint for a wiser and better kind of capitalism.

In On Seeing and Noticing , Alain de Botton takes everyday concerns such as expressing sadness or being romantic and dispenses advice and observations based on the works of some of history's greatest writers, artists and thinkers.

A fresh approach to modern working life, offering thoughtful solutions on how to cope with professional challenges. Work can be a route to creativity, excitement and purpose. Nevertheless, many of us end up confused, discouraged and beaten by our working lives. The temptation is often just to blame ourselves, and to feel privately ashamed and guilty. However, as this book lucidly explains, there is a range of well-embedded and intriguing reasons why work proves demoralising, including the evolution of modern work, the role of technology and the mechanics of the economy. This surprisingly cheering book offers us an invigorating perspective over our working lives--and what we might do at times when our work challenges us almost unbearably.

Wie lerne ich die kleinen Freude n des Alltags zu genießen? Mit das Beste im Leben sind die kleinen Freuden des Alltags, wir müssen sie nur erkennen: das unvergleichliche Entzücken, die Hand eines Kindes zu halten, das Vergnügen mit jemandem verschiedener Meinung zu sein, das Staunen über den Nachthimmel. All das kann uns Glück und Trost spenden, ohne besonders teuer oder anstrengend zu sein. Dieses Buch ermutigt uns den Blick für die ganz unterschiedlichen, faszinierenden und bewegenden kleinen Freuden zu schulen. Begegnen Sie der Welt mit neu entdeckter Begeisterung. Ein humorvolles Spiegelbild, wie Sie sich selbst im Weg stehen Lebensweisheiten im Alltag erfahren Im Kleinen ist großes Glück nicht teuer

Der Essay untersucht die Ursachen für Stress und Beziehungsprobleme, die oft auf fehlende Gelassenheit zurückzuführen sind. Mit britischem Humor bietet er überzeugende Argumente, um Panikreaktionen, Angst und Wut zu vermeiden. Die zentrale Botschaft: Durch Nachdenken können wir uns selbst zu mehr Gelassenheit erziehen.

"Es gibt kaum etwas im Leben, das uns mehr Glück verheißt und zugleich ein größerer Garant für Kummer und Enttäuschung ist, als eine Partnerschaft. Es ist jedoch ein Irrtum zu glauben, dass wir von Geburt an wissen, wie Liebe funktioniert, und wir deshalb leicht und intuitiv gelungene Beziehungen führen könnten. Dieses Buch geht von einer anderen Annahme aus: dass Liebe nicht nur ein Gefühl ist, sondern eine Fähigkeit, die man erlernen muss. Auf unaufgeregte und charmante Art und Weise führt es uns durch die Kernfragen des Themas Partnerschaft – von Streit bis Sex, von Vergebung bis Kommunikation – und sorgt so dafür, dass eine erfolgreiche Liebesbeziehung nie mehr eine bloße Frage des Glücks ist."

Wie kann ich vergessene Tugenden wie Freundlichkeit und Warmherzigkeit wiederbeleben? Ein Ratgeber, der uns nicht dünner oder reicher machen will – nein, er will uns helfen netter zu sein: geduldiger, gerne bereit zuzuhören, warmherziger und weniger reizbar. Alles enorm wichtige Qualitäten, die wir heute sträflich vernachlässigen. Dieses Handbuch führt uns behutsam an die zentralen Fragen einer vergessenen Tugend heran. Wir lernen, wie wir uns menschenfreundlich geben, natürlich bleiben, wie wir verzeihen oder Mut machen können. Der gute Umgang miteinander verdient es als eine der größten menschlichen Errungenschaften wiederentdeckt zu werden. Warum es uns schwer fällt, einfach freundlich zu sein Viele Anregungen und Tipps für einen guten Umgang miteinander Die Wiederentdeckung der größten menschlichen Errungenschaften

De Bottons Essay beleuchtet die Komplexität von Sex und die Schwierigkeiten, offen darüber zu sprechen. Er hilft, Einsamkeit und Verwirrung zu überwinden, und zeigt, wie man erfüllenden Sex erleben und seine Sehnsüchte ausdrücken kann. Eine ehrliche Auseinandersetzung mit einem vielschichtigen Thema.

A guide to modern times that explores the challenges living in the 21st century can pose to our mental wellbeing.

Das Buch bietet unterhaltsame Anregungen, Aufgaben und Fragen aus der Psychologie, die uns helfen, uns selbst besser zu verstehen und mehr Selbsterkenntnis in wichtigen Lebensbereichen zu erlangen.

Una guida all'arte di fallire bene, con consigli pratici e un approccio gentile. Questo è un libro speranzoso, consolante e delicato sul fallimento. Le nostre società parlano molto di successo, ma la realtà è che nessuno attraversa la vita senza fallire, in modi piccoli e spesso anche grandi. A volte i nostri fallimenti sono molto evidenti, altre volte sentiamo di doverli nascondere per vergogna. Questo libro ci incoraggia ad accettare il ruolo che il fallimento gioca per tutti noi e a provare compassione per noi stessi per i disastri che non possiamo fare a meno di creare nel corso delle nostre vite. Pieno di consigli pratici su come affrontare i fallimenti inevitabili della vita, da quelli piccoli a quelli grandi, questo è il volume perfetto per chiunque abbia mai attraversato una rottura, subito una crisi professionale, fatto nemici, gestito male un progetto o sprecato del tempo. Non c'è nulla di più umano che fallire e nulla di più saggio e necessario che fallire bene.

" Le titre original de l'ouvrage Kiss and Tell (Embrasse et raconte) suggère l'intimité du narrateur, tout occupé à dresser la biographie de sa petite amie, la gracieuse Isabel qui mange des carottes aux arrêts d'autobus, préfère la margarine au beurre, déteste les cornichons, Milton et sortir la poubelle le mardi, mais adore en revanche Vaclav Havel, le jus d'orange et lire dans son bain. L'intérêt de tout ça ? Considérable, of course. À quoi bon tout raconter des choses ordinaires d'un être extraordinaire ? Ou des choses extraordinaires (tuer quelqu'un, gagner à la loterie, etc.) d'un être ordinaire ? Non, Alain de Botton préfère sagement s'en tenir aux choses ordinaires d'un être ordinaire. Et de chapitre en chapitre où il médite sur le rôle des arbres généalogiques, la validité des tests psychologiques et graphologiques ou la possibilité philosophique de voir jamais le monde avec les yeux d'un autre, il nous plonge dans les affres et les joies d'une love story qui va cahin-caha. Au fait, n'est-il pas dangereux de prétendre tout connaître de la personne qui partage votre vie ou votre lit ? Pour ne pas avoir esquivé cette décisive question, Alain de Botton mérite encore notre gratitude infinie. " Frédéric Vitoux, Le Nouvel Observateur

Wir leben in einer Gesellschaft, in der die Vermeidung von Risiko ein hohes Gut ist. Aber, Hand aufs Herz: Wäre es denn so erstrebenswert, in einer Welt ganz ohne Risiken zu leben? Polly Morland nimmt uns mit auf eine Reise: In neun Geschichten über ganz normale wie außergewöhnliche Menschen, die Tag für Tag mit Risiken leben. Die Prima Ballerina der Pariser Oper, deren Beinen nichts passieren darf; die Familie, die am Fuße des Vesuvs lebt und täglich mit einem Ausbruch des Vulkans rechnen muss; oder der Fluglotse in London, der immer eine eventuelle Katastrophe im Blick hat. "Es ist ein Buch unserer Zeit. Mehr denn je vergessen wir, welch wichtige Rolle das intelligente Risiko für den Fortschritt in der Menschheitsgeschichte spielt. Es geht darum, die goldene Mitte zu finden zwischen Wagemut auf der einen und Zaghaftigkeit auf der anderen Seite." Alain de Botton So ist, auf Anregung von Allianz Global Investors, ein lesenswertes, charmantes und unterhaltsames Buch entstanden, das uns anregt, über das, was wir Sicherheit nennen, neu nachzudenken, und uns vielleicht sogar lehrt, über den weisen Umgang mit Risiken ein erfüllteres Leben zu führen.

Alain de Botton lesen heißt GLÜCK TANKEN. Alain de Botton ist dafür berühmt, unseren Blick für die vermeintlich belanglosen Dinge des Lebens neu und unerwartet zu öffnen, mit seinen Augen sehen wir, was uns zuvor nie aufgefallen ist. So begeistert er uns in seinen Essays für den Charme der Langeweile, führt uns auf überraschenden Wegen durch den Zoo, erzählt, was auf einer Fahrt zum Flughafen so alles passiert: Alain de Bottons große Kunst ist es, allem Unbedeutenden eine verzaubernde Bedeutung abzugewinnen. Und so gehen wir nach der Lektüre seiner Texte um eine Erfahrung reicher zurück in unseren Alltag.

Zweiter Band, der Reihe über Urlaubsarchitekturen jenseits stark frequentierter Touristenpfade vervollständigt. Feriendomizile in besonderer Umgebung und mit einmaliger Atmosphäre sind ausgewählt und aufbereitet. Detaillierte Beschreibung des Hotelkonzepts, der Architektur und Inneneinrichtung. Kontaktangaben von jedem Haus. Detaillierte Pläne zur einfachen Orientierung. -- Small hotels, holiday homes and apartments in exceptional surroundings and with a unique atmosphere are presented in detail. Together they present a panorama of rarely seen unusual architecture away from much frequented tourist spots.

London ist vielleicht die einzige Welt-Stadt Europas – obwohl, oder gerade weil sich die Stadt bis heute durch notorischen Euroskeptizismus auszeichnet. Jede Stadt hat ihre speziellen Gegensätze. In London werden sie durch eine beispiellose Multi-Ethnie geprägt. Oder durch den Unterschied zwischen East End Boys und West End Girls, den schon die Pet Shop Boys besungen haben. Right, Pop. Da war doch was, King’s Road, Carnaby Street, Punk. Style und so. Ist da noch was? corsofolio London unternimmt Expeditionen in die Stadt der Parallelgesellschaften, der Pubs und Caffs und – These – in die Welt-Hauptstadt der Musik und der Mode.Mit Beiträgen u.a. vonJan Böttcher, Alain de Botton, Christoph Dallach, Martin R. Dean, Margit Dirscherl, Rüdiger Görner, Eike Schönfeld, Stefan Tobler, Stefanie Schütte, einer Bild-Geschichte von Hans Hillmann und dem Bilderbogen von Wolf Suschitzky. Das Journal mit Texten u.a. von Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Nick Hornby, Oscar Wilde, Will Self, Zadie Smith, Monica Ali, Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, Karl Marx, Jane Austen, Ronald Reng, John le Carré etc.