The Hidden Pleasures of Life

A New Way of Remembering the Past and Imagining the Future

De: Theodore Zeldin

Narrado por: Saul Reichlin

The story of a search for a new art of living. How can one escape from work colleagues who are bores and from organisations that thrive on stress? What new priorities can people give to their private lives? When the romantic ideal is disappointing, how else can affections be cultivated? If only a few can become rich, what substitute is there for dropping out? If religions and nations disagree, what other outcomes are possible beyond strife or doubt? Where there is too little freedom, what is the alternative to rebellion? When so much is unpredictable, what can replace ambition?

Questions include: What is the great adventure of our time? What is a wasted life? How can people lose their illusions about themselves? What alternatives are there to being a rebel? What can the poor tell the rich? What could the rich tell the poor? How many ways of committing suicide are there? How can an unbeliever understand a believer? How can a religion change? How can prejudices be overcome? How can one think about the future, without trying to predict it or worrying about it? Is ridicule the most effective form of non-violent protest? How does one acquire a sense of humour? What stops people feeling completely at home in their own country? How many nations can one love at the same time? Why do so many people feel unappreciated, unloved and not fully alive? How else might women and men treat one another? What can replace the shortage of soul-mates? Is another kind of sexual revolution achievable? What can artists aim for beyond self-expression? What is more interesting than becoming a leader? What is the point of working so hard? Are there more amusing ways of earning a living? What else can one do in a hotel? What more can the young ask of their elders? Is remaining young at heart enough to avoid becoming old? What is worth knowing? What does it mean to be alive? Where can one find nourishment for the mind?

(P)2015 WF Howes Ltd©2015 Theodore Zeldin

Reseñas de la Crítica

Scintillating . . . prophetic . . . engaging.

A masterpiece.

A challenge and a success . . . He is particularly good and funny on work and the apparently catastrophic affair we are having with management science.

Without question the wisest book of the year . . . at once learned and delightful . . . a cure for the prevailing gloom, always on the side of joy, openness, enquiry and freedom . . . The guide we need to the art of living.

One of the best books of the year. An erudite and mouth-watering manifesto for a new art of living.

Captivates by its brilliance and profundity.

Delightful and endlessly fascinating.

Theodore Zeldin, philosopher and author of many books, including "An Intimate History of Humanity" has many new ideas that can truly set you thinking . . . New mantras for this age.

A truly wonderful book. Even the contents gave me shivers of excitement. If your wish is to be alive then read this book.

A priceless gem, a book that remains in the heart and mind like few others...incredibly inspiring . . . I would almost compare it to Montaigne and his Essays... often ironical, never banal . . . accessible to anyone, should absolutely be read, reread and studied in depth.

When readers start asking themselves the questions it poses, they find themselves living differently. A transformative book, full of wisdom that can be enjoyed by anyone from teenagers to centenarians.

This book is unique in providing new frames to guide us in discovering how we want to live our lives.

Essential reading. I am glad I read it now, but it's one I wish I could have encountered as a teenager . . . I argued with this book, I lived it . . . An enriching journey that will last a lifetime.

A hidden gem

The book is an interesting mix of genres, a little bit of philosophy, history, self-help and much more. Prof. Zeldin asks a lot of very profound questions and answers them in a charming and simple way by telling a history of a particular person’s life. If you like biographies in general you will love this book. It tackles so many different themes that you will never get bored. Also, the narrator does a great job. Seldom does one encounter so much wisdom in a book which, at the same time, manages to be so entertaining. Definitely one of few books that I’m planning to listen to again.