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The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work

By Alain De de Botton

(24)

| eBook | 9780141932750

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Book Description

We spend most of our waking lives at work - in occupations often chosen by our unthinking sixteen-year-old selves. And yet we rarely ask ourselves how we got there or what it might mean for us.

Equally intrigued by work's pleasures and its pains, Alain de Botton here heads out into Continue

We spend most of our waking lives at work - in occupations often chosen by our unthinking sixteen-year-old selves. And yet we rarely ask ourselves how we got there or what it might mean for us.



Equally intrigued by work's pleasures and its pains, Alain de Botton here heads out into the under-charted worlds of the office, the factory, the fishing fleet and the logistics centre, ears and eyes open to the beauty, interest and sheer strangeness of the modern workplace. 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, witty and inventive, Alain de Botton's 'song for occupations' is a celebration and exploration of an aspect of life which is all too often ignored and yet as central to us as our love lives.

3 Reviews

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  • This book contains some interesting parts like the pylon appreciation club, and reflections on the nature of work, but overall it is hardly an inspiring read. De Botton's extreme eloquence (or just plain wordiness) is a bit hard to stomach. I'm sorry, but I generally don't like to read overly padd ... (continue)

    This book contains some interesting parts like the pylon appreciation club, and reflections on the nature of work, but overall it is hardly an inspiring read. De Botton's extreme eloquence (or just plain wordiness) is a bit hard to stomach. I'm sorry, but I generally don't like to read overly padded sentences that take a second reading to decipher.

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    Holmes said on Mar 3, 2012 about the Others edition | Add your feedback

  • This book takes you through the jobs and workplaces that are not often thought about. But are essential to our current lives.

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    JAYSONHOOGY said on Apr 2, 2010 about the Others edition | Add your feedback

  • and I didn't even wait for the paperback version

    totally wasted money. de Botton didn't make it this time.

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    Sara said on Sep 13, 2009 about the Others edition | Add your feedback

Book Details

  • Rating:
    (24)
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  • English Books
  • eBook 336 Pages
  • ISBN-10: 0141932759
  • ISBN-13: 9780141932750
  • Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
  • Pub date: Apr 02, 2009
  • Also available as: Others
  • In other languages: other languages 繁體書
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