From the author of The Architecture of Happiness, a deeply moving meditation on how we can still benefit, without believing, from the wisdom, the beauty, and the consolatory power that religion has to offer.
Alain de Botton was brought up in a committedly atheistic household, and though he was p[...]
Looks at the manic and peculiar positions that 'the news' occupies in our lives. Mixing current affairs with philosophical reflections, this title offers an illustrated guide to the precautions we should take before venturing anywhere near the news and the 'noise' it generates.[...]
The Architecture of Happiness is Alain de Botton's exploration of the hidden links between buildings and our well being. In The Architecture of Happiness, bestselling author Alain de Botton explores one of our most intense but often hidden love affairs: with our houses and their furnishings. He asks[...]
The Art of Travel is Alain de Botton's travel guide with a difference. Few activities seem to promise us as much happiness as going travelling: taking off for somewhere else, somewhere far from home, a place with more interesting weather, customs and landscapes. But although we are inundated with ad[...]
The News is Alain de Botton's witty and insightful exploration of our twenty-first century obsession with media. Why do we keep checking the news? Today, the news occupies the same dominant position in our lives as religion once did. But rarely do we consider how it touches us. Here, Alain de Botton[...]
This tale of wild adventure reveals the dashed hopes of Africans living between worlds. When Moki returns to his village from France wearing designer clothes and affecting all the manners of a Frenchman, Massala-Massala, who lives the life of a humble peanut farmer after giving up his studies, begin[...]
Informed by both structuralism and poststructuralism, these essays by art critic and historian Yve Alain Bois seek to redefine the status of theory in modernist critical discourse. Warning against the uncritical adoption of theoretical fashions and equally against the a priori rejection of all theor[...]
An essential introduction to all major areas of film study, including semiotics, narratology, psychoanalysis as a part of film theory, and the theory of spectatorship.[...]
The work of sculptor Eva Hesse (1936-1970), one of the greatest American artists of the 1960s, continues to inspire and to endure in large part because of its deeply emotional and evocative qualities. Her latex and fiberglass sculptures in particular have a resonance that transcends the boundaries o[...]
"In this book a noted physiologist and neuroscientist introduces the concept of simplexity, the set of solutions living organisms find that enable them to deal with information and situations, while taking into account past experiences and anticipating future ones. Such solutions are new ways of add[...]
A thoughtful study of architecture that examines how we both shape and are shaped by our surroundings considers how our private homes and public edifices--from Classical to Gothic to minimalist Modern--reflect how we feel and explains how our stylistic choices can be used to increase our chances of [...]
"What if religions are neither all true nor all nonsense?" The long-running and often boring debate between fundamentalist believers and non-believers is finally moved forward by Alain de Botton's inspiring new book, which boldly argues that the supernatural claims of religion are entirely false--bu[...]
The news is everywhere. We can't stop constantly checking it on our computer screens, but what is this doing to our minds?
We are never really taught how to make sense of the torrent of news we face every day, writes Alain de Botton (author of the best-selling "The Architecture of Happiness"), b[...]
"What if religions are neither all true nor all nonsense? "Alain de Botton's bold and provocative book argues that we can benefit from the wisdom and power of religion--without having to believe in any of it.
He suggests that rather than mocking religion, agnostics and atheists should instead st[...]
"The News: A User's Manual "is an insightful analysis of the impact of the incessant news machine on us and our culture.
The news is everywhere. We can't stop constantly checking it on our computer screens, but what is this doing to our minds? We are never taught how to make sense of the torrent[...]
Washington provides a detailed guide to the philosophy of Alain Locke, one of the most influential African American thinkers of our time. The work gives special attention to what Washington calls Destiny Studies, an approach which allows a people to concentrate on their past, present, and future pos[...]
'What a marvellous book this is ...de Botton dissects what [Proust] had to say about friendship, reading, looking carefully, paying attention taking your time, being alive and adds his own delicious commentary. The result is an intoxicating as it is wise, amusing as well as stimulating, and presente[...]
Essays in Love will appeal to anyone who has ever been in a relationship or confused about love. The book charts the progress of a love affair from the first kiss to argument and reconciliation, from intimacy and tenderness to the onset of anxiety and heartbreak. The work's genius lies in the way it[...]
The author of "How Proust Can Change Your Life" explores what the point of travel might be and modestly suggets how we can learn to be a little happier in our travels.[...]
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 [...]
The exceptional cosmic history and the fabulous destinies of exploding stars - supernovae and gamma-ray bursters - are highly fertile areas of research and are also very special tools to further our understanding of the universe. In this book, cosmologists Dr Alain Mazure and Dr Stephane Basa throw [...]
Nearly all the case study chapters are written by former course attendants in cooperation with the authors of this book Provides a complete set of examples of case studies showing how to deal with certain levels of difficulty during the key process of selecting the correct or appropriate statistical[...]