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Status Anxiety
- Narrated by: Alain de Botton
- Length: 2 hrs and 51 mins
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Status Anxiety
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Publisher's summary
THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER
From one of our greatest voices in modern philosophy, author of The Course of Love, The Consolations of Philosophy, Religion for Atheists and The School of Life - Alain de Botton sets out to understand our universal fear of failure - and how we might change it
We all worry about what others think of us. We all long to succeed and fear failure. We all suffer - to a greater or lesser degree, usually privately and with embarrassment - from status anxiety.
Alain de Botton gives a name to this universal condition and sets out to investigate both its origins and possible solutions. He looks at history, philosophy, economics, art and politics - and reveals the many ingenious ways that great minds have overcome their worries. The result is a book that is not only entertaining and thought-provoking - but genuinely wise and helpful as well.
Critic reviews
'De Botton's gift is to prompt us to think about how we live and how we might change things' The Times
'He analyses modern society with great charm, learning and humour. His remedies come as a welcome relief when most books offering solutions to the stresses of life recommend the lotus position' Daily Mail
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What listeners say about Status Anxiety
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 04-10-17
loved it
great book!
Alain De Botton is a very eloquent writer and a good reader.
this book puts things in perspective. I really like that Alain never presumes to do the thinking for you. His work is never prescriptive. Instead he provides a wealth of perspectives that help you think clearer and make your own decisions.
A very easy and thought-provoking read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Andrew
- 06-21-05
This guy is amazing
If you like History, philosophy and psychology its all in here. Alain de Botton gathers up peoples' ideas from the last few hundred years and unveils a kind of secret depression that most people in western society suffers from and don't really understand or even know its there. The author explains some of the reasons why we get depressed over things like money, luxery goods and other peoples' opinion of us and by explaining this depression we are somewhat alleviated from it. He is a good speaker whos choice in words are very poetic. This book really opened my eyes and had an great effect on me.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Calvin
- 11-01-05
excellent
A must read. One of my ten most important books.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Cay.S
- 02-11-13
Illuminating
I found this book to help explain much of why modern society is so highly strung. Knowing the psychology around it has helped me relax a little around "status anxiety". It was an enjoyable read
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