Presents a study of Marcel Proust that combines elements of literary biography, textual analysis, and self-help manual as it examines the French writer's thoughts on such topics as true love, vacations, and dating.

Product Description: THE SCHOOL OF LIFE IS DEDICATED TO EXPLORING LIFE'S BIG QUESTIONS IN HIGHLY-PORTABLE PAPERBACKS, FEATURING FRENCH FLAPS AND DECKLE EDGES, THAT THE NEW YORK TIMES CALLS "DAMNABLY CUTE." WE DON'T HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS, BUT WE WILL DIRECT YOU TOWARDS A VARIETY OF USEFUL IDEAS THAT ARE GUARANTEED TO STIMULATE, PROVOKE, AND CONSOLE...read more

We spend most of our waking lives at work — in occupations often chosen by our unthinking younger selves. And yet we rarely ask ourselves how we got there or what our occupations mean to us. The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work is an exploration of the joys and perils of the modern workplace, beautifully evoking what other people wake up to do each day — and night — to make the frenzied contemporary world function. With a philosophical eye and his signature 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 manufacture, accountancy to art — in search of what makes jobs either fulfilling or soul-destroying. Along the way he tries to answer some of the most urgent questions we can ask about work: Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurable? What is its meaning? And why do we daily exhaust not only ourselves but also the planet? Characteristically lucid, clever and inventive, de Botton’s “song for occupations” is a celebration and exploration of an aspect of life that is all too often ignored and a book that shines a revealing light on the essential meaning of work in our lives.

Product Description: This dazzling journey through the philosophy and psychology of architecture explores the indelible connection between our identities and our locations. Alain de Botton argues that our environment heavily influences who we can be.

A study of architecture examines how we both shape and are shaped by our private homes and public edifices and explains how our stylistic choices can be used to increase our chances of happiness.

Drawing from the fields of history, psychology, politics, and economics, a look at the anxieties associated with a pursuit of status explains how humans have sought to cope with their fears and offers suggestions on ways to deal with the problem.

Drawing from the fields of history, psychology, politics, and economics, a close up look at the anxieties we suffer associated with a pursuit of status explains how humans have sought to cope with their fears through philosophy, art, religion, and bohemia and offers thought-provoking suggestions on other ways to deal with the problem. Read by Simon Vance. Book available.

Alain de Botton has performed a stunning feat: he has transformed arcane philosophy into something accessible and entertaining, useful and kind. Drawing on the work of six of the world's most brilliant thinkers, de Botton has arranged a panoply of wisdom to guide us through our most common problems. From the frustration of misplacing your keys to the sadness of losing a loved one, the writings of Seneca can offer consolation. For the agony of not having enough money, Epicurus has a solution that everyone can afford. If your life is beset by difficulty after difficulty, wise advice may be found in the words of Nietzsche. The Consolations of Philosophy is smart, lucid, and pleasing, a rare sort of book that wonderfully fulfills the promise of its title.

Product Description: Alain de Botton has performed a stunning feat: he has transformed arcane philosophy into something accessible and entertaining, useful and kind. Drawing on the work of six of the world’s most brilliant thinkers, de Botton has arranged a panoply of wisdom to guide us through our most common problems...read more

An inquiry into the human desire to travel and the ways in which the travel experience is affected by anticipation and memory presents a series of thought-provoking and humorous essays on airports, museums, landscapes, holiday romances, hotel mini-bars, and master artists, offering suggestions on how to render travel more fulfilling. Reprint. 65,000 first printing.

Product Description: "There is a need for someone to bring that joyful activity of mind we call philosophy to the wider reading public. And de Botton ... writes with verve."--The New York Times Book Review, Jonathan Lear Blurb in Spanish: ¿Cómo podemos conseguir que la filosofía forme parte de nuestra vida cotidiana? Alain de Botton vuelve a demostrar que la filosofía es una inagotable fuente de consuelo...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Accused by a former girlfriend of being unable to emphathize, the narrator decides to write about the next person who walks into his life, Isabel Rogers

The author of On Love and The Romantic Movement presents a witty study of Marcel Proust that combines elements of literary biography, text analysis, and self-help manual as it examines the great writer's thoughts on true love, vacations, sex on the first date, and other issues. 17,500 first printing. Tour.

Traces the ups and downs in the relationship of Alice and Eric, complete with drawings and diagrams and a chorus of thinkers about love--from Descartes to Aretha Franklin

Product Description: 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.

In a novel that explores the realities of 'being in love,' two young people meet on a Paris-London flight and embark on a love affair based on what they perceive as destiny