There are few more powerful desires than the wish to be thought of as a success, worthy of dignity and respect. We long for status and dread its opposite. But such aspirations and anxieties are rarely spoken about -- or at least not without sarcasm, embarrassment or condemnation. In STATUS ANXIETY, Alain de Botton asks where our worries about questions of status come from and what, if anything, we can do to reduce them. Looking at how people have coped with these anxieties in the past, and appealing to philosophers, historians, politicians and artists, de Botton brings status anxiety out into the open with a range of unexpected examples and entertaining anecdotes.
Status Anxiety
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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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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
58 of 60 people found the following review helpful
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.
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.
63 of 66 people found the following review helpful
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.
48 of 51 people found the following review helpful
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
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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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 2 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 6 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 6 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 8 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 11 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 14 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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