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Status Anxiety [Paperback]

Alain de Botton (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 13 Jan 2005

In Status Anxiety, bestselling author Alain de Botton sets out to understand our universal fear of failure - and how we might change

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.

For the first time, 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.

'Clever, wise. De Botton's gift is to prompt us to think about how we live and how we might change things' The Times

'De Botton 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

'Measured, amused, compassionate . . . de Botton is a surefooted discoverer of the pungent but less well known quote' Daily Telegraph

'A purveyor of serious buy playful manuals for living' GQ

'Turned me into a fan, for its range, insight, wit and sheer usefulness' Daily Express

Alain de Botton was born in 1969 and is the author of non-fiction essays on themes ranging from love and travel to architecture and philosophy. His bestselling books include Essays in Love; The Romantic Movement; Kiss and Tell; Status Anxiety; How Proust Can Change Your Life; The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work; The Art of Travel; The Architecture of Happiness and Religion for Atheists. He lives in London and founded The School of Life (www.theschooloflife.com) and Living Architecture (www.living-architecture.co.uk). For more information, consult www.alaindebotton.com.

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Product details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin (13 Jan 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0141014865
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141014869
  • Product Dimensions: 13.4 x 20.1 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 20,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

About the Author

Alain de Botton was born in 1969. He is the author of Essays in Love, The Romantic Movement, Kiss and Tell, How Proust Can Change Your Life, The Consolations of Philosophy and The Art of Travel. He lives in London.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
58 of 60 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Confirming and thought-provoking. 13 Sep 2005
By David
Format:Paperback
This is a feel-good book for anyone who thinks a bit about society and their place in it. Alain de Boton is like an incredibly well-read and eloquent participant in a discussion taking place in your head, confirming and developing so many thoughts and ideas that you've always had but are unlikely to have had the chance to ever analyse properly.
Importantly, the book steers clear of direct instruction on how you should respond to society, and for me it was the regularly evoked chains of thought that provided the greatest moments of realisation and satisfaction.
Taken at face value and read quickly, this book would still be a very interesting read, but it becomes a truly excellent one when used as an informed launch-pad for your own judgements, thoughts and ideas.
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63 of 66 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Heal Me Mr De Boton 18 Mar 2004
By Mr. Cp Cavell-clarke
Format:Hardcover
Having loved Alain De Botton's previous books I approached Satatus Anxiety with some trepidation. Would it live up to it's author's own standards. The answer is a resounding yes. Status Anxiety is as well researched and as witty book as you could read.

In fact Alain de Botton might be the greatest labour saving device since the personal computer. He's read all the books we know we should have, and with a cheeky anecdotal style he makes sense of our lives while leaving the sense of his sources un-diminished. In The Consolations of Philosophy, he digested and explained the great philosophers, giving us an executive summary for coping with our jealousies and the anxiety of being human. Status Anxiety, finds De Botton analysing the ox-coveting curtain-twitcher in all of us. Ours is an age where we spend it like Beckham even if we can't quite earn it, Status Anxiety goes some way to revealing why. Alain de Botton, every home should have one.

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48 of 51 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Modern life and human nature 3 Feb 2005
By ejtooth
Format:Paperback
This book is divided into two sections: the first defining the problem the second possible solutions
The first section is a compelling analysis of the human condition and how our (modern) world plays upon our predisposition and fears. The second section, while equally well reasoned took me to where I could see dry land but left me stranded on a sand bar. It offers no new solutions but only the consolations of philosophy politics religion or non-conformity. In short de Botton concedes that we are captive to our often punishing assessment of ourselves as handed to us by society and faced with that, perhaps the best we can do is to change the way we consider that assessment - to change one value system for another more humane.
Having said that, these solutions are solutions and certainly well worth considering, however I suspect that the type of person who buys this book may have covered much of this ground already.
I don't wish to appear negative about a book that I valued and will certainly recommend and it is perhaps to his credit as a scholar, that he is honest enough not to peddle any simple solutions - but - part of me wished he had sold me something and not just set out the stall.

I found the book clear well reasoned well written and understandable. It is also a good read - this was a book that I read in a couple of days. It is obvious that Alain de Botton has an enviable understanding of his subject and it was a pleasure for a lazy reader to be guided through such a wide tapestry of thinkers - I have in the past tried to read some of these authors but have been defeated by their verbiage. All in all a very good read and a valuable tool to make you assess the way you live your life and react to the world and other people
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Is status really worth having? 10 Jun 2004
By "gpk2002"
Format:Hardcover
Status Anxiety puts forward a proposition about society that is genuinely compelling and quite convincing. The book follows a logical structure starting with a discussion of the causes of status anxiety and finishes with some inspiring solutions. The text is generally clear and straightforward, although disappointingly has a tendency at times to ramble into unnecessarily philosophical language - destroying the clarity of thought meticulously built up over several pages.

Stick with it though, and you will find yourself thinking more deeply about what status is and whether it is really worth having.

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42 of 46 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A superficial but entertaining skim 9 Jan 2006
By Moonymoon
Format:Paperback
I enjoyed the TV programme which preceded this book, it was nice to see alternative ideas to the depressing aggressive consumerism which domniates TV presented. The book would serve as a very good introduction to thinking about these alternative ideas, but it is a superficial skim through. It is written in a lively, tongue-in-cheek style which is what gets Alain de Botton comissioned in the first place, but if you want something meatier, go to some of the many writers and artists he quotes liberally from.

The book only deals with status attached to wealth and materialism and ignores the complexities of social status. In the chapter on bohemia, for example, he doesn't address the way that being 'cultured' and part of an artistic community is often itself used as a badge of status to mark superiority. Artists are often perceived as having, or certainly claim to have, a greater sensitivity and insight to the common herd. As an academic I'm sure he knows how many people acquire knowledge and ideas as trophies to lord it over the less well educated. He doesn't explore the hierarchies inherent in these alternative communities, and the ways in which they include and exclude.

It is deceptively easy to make philosophy accessible, and Alain de Botton does an admirable job. This book is great if you are looking for an introduction, but go elsewhere if these ideas are not new to you. Good selection of pictures too - especially the cartoons.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Very thought provoking book
Although I am reading it to give myself ideas for my dissertation for university it is written very simply, and gets you thinking about life and how we look at it. Read more
Published 3 months ago by GF
4.0 out of 5 stars Many ideas within book.
I found this book well researched and informative-Alain De Botton clearly knows the area of society,class disctinction throughout modern and ancient history well. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mr. K. Sabri-tabrizi
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable read
The summary as written on line prepared one for this book. No great surprises. Enjoyable to read if this is your taste in literature
Published 7 months ago by pat neale
4.0 out of 5 stars Pity about the illustrations
I am mystified as to why most of the illustrations do not appear in the Kindle version. Is it to do with copyright clearance? Read more
Published 9 months ago by Benb
4.0 out of 5 stars Good but BEWARE OF THE KINDLE EDITION
Alain de Botton has put together an interesting read (bought for Kindle Touch), and it certainly brings a strong sense of perspective with respect to status in its various forms... Read more
Published 12 months ago by B. Waterhouse
5.0 out of 5 stars My Viewpoint
I needed this book to read as part of a of a Group, and found it an enlightening overview of history social history, clearly put, and well illustrated.
Published 15 months ago by Owen Walter
2.0 out of 5 stars Kindle Edition
The Kindle Edition contains no table of contents and some pictures are missing when comparing it to the paper edition. Read more
Published on 18 April 2011 by roblondon
4.0 out of 5 stars unexpectedly engaging
Having seen Alain de Botton in the media, I had formed the opinion that his writing would be a bit too pompous for my taste, but in this I have been proven wrong. Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2011 by moby-dick
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
I'm interested in the science of happiness. De Botton's book is interesting because it covers the idea of modern happiness or unhappiness from a philosophical and historical angle. Read more
Published on 18 Dec 2010 by dilaudid
3.0 out of 5 stars No new ideas, but some elegant expression of old ones
Rambles on a bit towards the end about Dadaism, etc - felt a bit like he was trying to make the page count he'd agreed to. Bits of it are very well written - succint and clear. Read more
Published on 1 Sep 2010 by Jezza
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