Alain de Botton

Advantages: very interesting
Disadvantages: none really

...This is a self-help manual. Go into any bookshop today and the shelves are crowded with self-help manuals promising easy fixes for everything from obesity to speaking infront of a crowd. De Botton's book is a welcome change. Instead of the usual management jargon, Alain De Botton draws his inspiration from within the rich vein of western philosophy. He explores problems such as not having enough money, unpopularity, a broken heart and so on, with the help of philosophers as diverse as Epicurus and Seneca, and Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. Alain de Botton's genuine talent, exemplified here is to show how philosophy is not just dry text but is something that is intensely practicle and that can help provide a balm (or consolation) for the presures of modern life. Any intelligent person will find something to admire in this book.... Read review

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Advantages: Great introduction to philosophy, a fascinating read
Disadvantages: Can take a while to digest some of the ideas

...The thought of taking a holiday, spending time away from work and home - the scenes we know well, fills most of us with excitement and pleasure. We look forward to visiting places we consider more beautiful or which offer a more appealing lifestyle than our everyday experiences. Television programmes, holiday brochures and guidebooks offer a wealth of recommendations on where to go and what to see when we get there. In this book, Alain de Botton considers why we chose those destinations in the first place. As well as personal observations made on his own travels, de Botton uses examples from classical writers and thinkers (e.g. Flaubert, Wordsworth) as well as paintings by Van Gogh and Turner (amongst others) to illustrate his arguments. De Botton examines such questions as why we are drawn to vast waterfalls or mountainous scenery... Read review

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Advantages: Quite Interesting
Disadvantages: Watered down and ultimately unhelpful

..., and with thick, sumptuously silky paper nestled between the chunky canary covers. To a book enthusiast such as me it seemed a promising start. Four days, 303 pages and some face pulling later, I am here to tell you why none of us should feel status anxiety in relation to Alain De Botton... The book itself is laid out in a very clear way, reminiscent of scientific journals, with chapters broken down into sections and then numbered paragraphs. This makes it easy to read, with bits given to you in bite-sized, easily digested chunks. It also makes it easy to put down at any point. Which is a blessing from pretty soon in. First off we get some brief definitions – not really very comprehensive but a quick skirting of what ‘status’ actually means - of the human desire to be treated with respect and not to be humiliated, and the subsequent advantages... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful