Alain Botton

„Lekce z lásky“ zaujmou patrně každého, kdo si prožil nějaký vztah. Krok po kroku se tu totiž mapuje jeden milostný příběh, od počátečního rozechvění, vzrušení a naplnění až po první trhlinky, rozčarování, rozchod a utrpení. To vše takřka každý z nás prožil a zklamání z toho, že naše pocity věru nejsou jedinečné, bohatě vyváží poznání, že v milostných průšvizích nelítáme sami. De Botton přesně vystihuje a rozebírá pocity a stavy, které jsme zažívali, ale možná jim tak úplně nerozuměli, mimo jiné je tu kapitola o nelehkém rozhodování, kdy a jak říci „Miluji tě“, a další o nástrahách vnucování vlastních estetických kriterií (aneb jak své milé taktně sdělit, že její boty jsou prostě příšerné). Lekce z lásky jsou povedený experiment s románovou formou (napůl román, napůl esej), knížka citlivá a zároveň intelektuálně provokativní. Nějak takhle by možná vypadaly psychologické články v Cosmopolitanu, kdyby je psal René Descartes...

V roce 2006 se na anglosaském knižním trhu nečekaně rozhořela válka o náboženství: Známý evoluční biolog Richard Dawkins ve svém bestselleru Boží blud napadl jménem vědy a racionality víru v jakoukoli vyšší moc a strhl lavinu publikací, v nichž si vědečtí racionalisté ostře vyměňovali názory s obránci náboženství a jeho společenské role. V české republice, kde role víry, zvlášť organizované, zůstává slabá, mohla Dawkinsova kniha sotva vzbudit podobný rozruch; Alain de Botton, známý českému čtenáři románem Lekce z lásky a několika esejistickými svazky, např. Architektura štěstí (Kniha Zlín 2010), Útěcha z filosofie (Kniha Zlín 2010) nebo Umění cestovat (Kniha Zlín 2010), nahlíží problém z odlišné, pro ateistu provokativnější pozice a ptá se, co může náboženství přinést těm, kdo odmítají přijmout jeho doktrínu. V deseti kapitolách se autor zabývá architekturou, uměním i mezilidskými vztahy a dokládá, že nedogmaticky vnímaná náboženská tradice nám může i v sekulární společnosti pomoci k plnějšímu a lidštějšímu životu.

In this rigorous and supremely honest book Alain de Botton helps us navigate the intimate and exciting yet often confusing and difficult experience that is sex. Few of us tend to feel we're entirely normal when it comes to sex, and what we're supposed to be feeling rarely matches up with the reality. This book argues that 21st-century sex is ultimately fated to be a balancing act between love and desire, and adventure and commitment. Covering topics that include lust, fetishism, adultery and pornography, Alain de Botton frankly articulates the dilemmas of modern sexuality, offering insights and consolation to help us think more deeply and wisely about the sex we are, or aren't, having.

Why do so many of us love or hate our work? How has it come to dominate our lives? And what should we do about it? Work makes us. Without it we are at a loss, in work we hope to have a measure of control over our lives. Yet for many of us, work is a straitjacket from which we cannot free ourselves. Criss-crossing the world to visit workplaces and workers both ordinary and extraordinary, and drawing on the wit and wisdom of great artists, writers and thinkers, Alain de Botton here explores our love-hate relationship with our jobs. He poses and answers little and big questions, from what should I do with my life? to what will I have achieved when I retire? "The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work" will not only explain why it is we do what we do all day, but through its sympathy, humour and insight will seek to help us make the most of it.

There is widespread agreement that art is 'very important' - but it can be remarkably hard to say quite why. Yet if art is to enjoy its privileges, it has to be able to demonstrate its relevance in understandable ways to the widest possible audience. Alain de Botton and John Armstrong have a firm belief that art can help us with our most intimate and ordinary dilemmas, asking: What can I do about the difficulties in my relationships? Why is my work not more satisfying? Why do other people seem to have a more glamorous life? Why is politics so depressing? The purpose of this book is to introduce a new method of interpreting art: art as a form of therapy. It's the authors' contention that certain art works provide powerful solutions to our problems, but that in order for this potential to be released, the audience's attention has to be directed towards it in a new way (which they demonstrate), rather than towards the more normal historical or stylistic concerns with which art books and museum captions are traditionally associated. The authors propose that the squeamish belief that art should be 'for art's sake' has unnecessarily held back art from revealing its latent therapeutic potential. This book involves reframing and recontextualising a series of art works from across the ages and genres, so that they can be approached as tools for the resolution of difficult issues in individual life.

The "Art of Travel" is Alain de Botton's travel guide with a difference: an exploration of why we travel and what we learn when we do. As seen on Channel 4 Few activities seem to promise is 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 advice on where to travel to, we seldom ask why we go and how we might become more fulfilled by doing so. With the help of a selection of writers, artists and thinkers - including Flaubert, Edward Hopper, Wordsworth and Van Gogh - Alain de Botton's bestselling "The Art of Travel" provides invaluable insights into everything from holiday romance to hotel minibars, airports to sightseeing. The perfect antidote to those guides that tell us what to do when we get there, "The Art of Travel" tries to explain why we really went in the first place - and helpfully suggest how we might be happier on our journeys. "Richly evocative, sharp and funny. De Botton proves himself to be a very fine travel writer indeed". (Sunday Telegraph"). "Delightful, profound, entertaining, I doubt if de Botton has written a dull sentence in his life". (Jan Morris). "An elegant and subtle work, unlike any other. Beguiling". (Colin Thubron, "The Times"). 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 and Living Architecture.

Často slýcháme, že umění je velmi důležité. Jen zřídka se ale dozvíme, proč vlastně. Alain de Botton a John Armstrong jsou přesvědčeni, že umění nám může pomoci řešit ta nejniternější a zároveň nejobyčejnější dilemata: Proč mě nebaví moje práce? Proč mi připadá, že všichni ostatní mají zajímavější život než já? Co mám dělat, aby můj vztah fungoval lépe? Proč musí být politika tak deprimující? Jejich kniha představuje nový způsob interpretace umění: vnímá ho jako terapii, která nám účinně pomáhá vypořádat se s každodenními problémy.

A legtöbb embernek még felnőttként is nehézséget okoz, hogy őszintén beszéljen vágyairól, azok száma pedig elenyésző, akik úgy érzik, hogy a szexszel kapcsolatos gondolataik normálisak lennének. Szeretet és vágy, kaland és elkötelezettség között lavírozva, bűntudattal telve éljük mindennapjainkat. Mindannyian deviánsak vagyunk, igaz, csak a normalitás valami roppant torz eszményéhez viszonyítva, állítja vigasztalóan Alain de Botton. Őszinte hangvételű könyvében olyan kényes témákat feszeget, mint a fetisizmus, a házasságtörés és a pornográfia, és mély empátiával segít eligazodni bennünket ebben az intim és izgalmas, bár gyakran zavarba ejtő és bonyolult témakörben.

With an introduction by Sheila Heti A unique love story and a classic work of philosophy, rooted in the mysterious workings of the human heart and mind. Perhaps it is true that we do not really exist until there is someone there to see us existing, we cannot properly speak until there is someone who can understand what we are saying in essence, we are not wholly alive until we are loved. A man and a woman meet over casual conversation on a flight from Paris to London, and so begins a love story - from first kiss to first argument, elation to heartbreak, and everything in between. Each stage of the relationship is illuminated with startling clarity, as de Botton explores emotions often felt but rarely understood. With the verve of a novelist and the insight of a philosopher, Alain de Botton uncovers the mysteries of the human heart. Essays In Love is an iconic book - one that should be read by anyone who has ever fallen in love.

Twenty years after his bestselling debut Essays in Love, internationally acclaimed author Alain de Botton returns to fiction with a brilliant new novel about modern relationships What does it mean to live happily ever after? At dinner parties and over coffee, Rabih and Kirsten's friends always ask them the same question: how did you meet? The answer comes easily - it's a happy story, one they both love to tell. But there is a second part to this story, the answer to a question their friends never ask: what happened next? Rabih and Kirsten find each other, fall in love, get married. Society tells us this is the end of the story. In fact, it is only the beginning. From the first thrill of lust, to the joys and fears of real commitment, to the deep problems that surface slowly over two shared lifetimes, this is the story of a marriage. It is the story of modern relationships and how to survive them. Playful, wise and profoundly moving, The Course of Love is a delightful return to the novel by Alain de Botton, twenty years after his debut Essays in Love.

What if religion is neither all true nor all nonsense? In Religion for Atheists Alain de Botton, the bestselling author of The Consolations of Philosophy, takes us one step further than Dawkins and Hitchens have ventured and into a world of ideas beyond the God debate . . . All of us, whether religious, agnostic or atheist, are searching for meaning. And in the wise and life-affirming Religion for Atheists, non-believer Alain de Botton suggests that religions, far from being nonsensical as atheists maintain, are instead full of good ideas on how to live. And that we should steal from them. Picking and choosing from the thousands of years of advice assembled by the world's great religions to get practical insights on art, community, love, friendship, work, life and death, Alain de Botton will show how each of us may find our place in the world. For too long people have faced the stark choice of having to either swallow unpalatable doctrine or do without an array of beautiful and life-enhancing rituals and structures. Finally, in Religion for Atheists, Alain de Botton suggests an alternative way to live. 'A beautiful, inspiring book . . . offering a glimpse of a more enlightened path' Sunday Telegraph 'Packed with tantalizing goads to thought and playful prompts to action' Independent 'Smart, stimulating, sensitive. A timely and perceptive appreciation of how much wisdom is embodied in religious traditions and how we godless moderns might learn from it' Financial Times 'There isn't a page in this book that doesn't contain a striking idea or a stimulating parallel' Mail on Sunday 'Packed with tantalizing goads to thought and playful prompts to action' Independent 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 How Proust Can Change Your Life, The Art of Travel, and The Architecture of Happiness.

Rabihnak és Kirstennek vacsorapartikon és kávézáskor gyakran felteszik a kérdést: hogyan ismertétek meg egymást? A válasz könnyen jön, kedves sztori, mindketten szívesen mesélik. Van azonban egy második része is a történetnek, csak erre sosem kérdeznek rá: mi történt utána? Rabih és Kirsten megismerkedtek, egymásba szerettek, és összeházasodtak. A történetük közmegegyezés szerint itt véget is ért. Pedig épp csak elkezdődött. A szerelem csapásai egy házasság története, a vágy ébredésétől a valódi elköteleződéssel járó örömökön és félelmeken át a közös élet során felszínre bukkanó problémákig. Provokatív regény a modern párkapcsolatokról és arról, hogyan lehet túlélni őket.

Discover everything you were never taught at school about how to lead a better life... Introduced and edited by the bestselling author of The Consolations of Philosophy, The Art of Travel and The Course of Love We spend years in school learning facts and figures but the one thing we're never taught is how to live a fulfilled life. That's why we need The School of Life - a real organisation founded ten years ago by writer and philosopher Alain de Botton. The School of Life has one simple aim: to equip people with the tools to survive and thrive in the modern world. And the most important of these tools is emotional intelligence. This book brings together ten years of essential and transformative research on emotional intelligence, with practical topics including: - how to understand yourself - how to master the dilemmas of relationships - how to become more effective at work - how to endure failure - how to grow more serene and resilient The School of Lifeis nothing short of a crash course in emotional maturity. With all the trademark wit and elegance of Alain de Botton's other writings, and rooted in practical, achievable advice, it show us a path to the better lives we all want and deserve.