This is a kind of hybrid novel/philosophical study of romantic love. The plot is, on the surface, a rather conventional one; a man and woman meet and fall in love. Most of the book, however, consists of the narrator (the male lover) reflecting on each stage of the process, from initial attraction to the despair of love's departure. What is perhaps most striking about Essays In Love is how Alain De Botton manages to combine passion and intellect. He is able to adroitly mix a scholarly, intellectual analysis with truly felt emotions. He is also extremely perceptive regarding the often perverse nature of our emotions. For example, he illustrates the tendency of someone in love to feel less highly of the loved one if he or she reciprocates the feeling. From this book, I'd guess De Botton has a background in Western philosophy, as the bulk of the references are from this field. Plato, Kant, Nietzsche, and many others are quoted. Yet the book is never dry or academic; the rawness of the lovers' emotions is always there to keep our hearts as well as our minds intrigued. James Wilby, the reader, perfectly captures the ideas, feelings and nuances of the story.

In the words of Karen Carpenter, "they long to be , just like me, close to you". Here Alain just wants to be close to Chloe, or close to love more precisely. I enjoyed this read, as a philosophical discussion of love there is probably none better. Dont expect a love story though, the plot element of this 'novel' is very sparse, bordering on non existent, nothing really happens except for the fact that Alain takes us on a witty, funny , insightful and revealatory discussion on "what is love?". In fact this would have been a wonderful sub title for the book and is a must read for anyone who has oftened wondered. Once you have read the book, wonder no more about the question that poets, novelists and songwriters never tire of.
The limitations of the novel:
1. It makes no comment about what love means for the human race and draws no conclusions about the sociological implications of love, this is suprising given the authors distance and analysis of the condition. The argument for 'biological urge' would have upset the romantic element of the authors passion.
2. It is very english, proper and dignified. The protaginists are wealthy, successful and cute. Neither of them have any faults, doubts or problems and this creates a distance to the characters and aids in the philosophical discussion without getting to close to the 'people' concerned. Thus as a novel it fails.
Despite the above, the book is highly readable and I will no doubt read it again, you should too.

This is the English edition of what in the US was published as ON LOVE: it is quite the funniest, most intelligent book I have ever read on love. Please buy it, and you will see what I mean

This was required reading for my Russian literature class because it is considered a classic. My favorite part of this book is the fact that it gives the reader a glimpse of what life was like for the average nobleman of the day...(in the 1850's) It has some interesting descriptions of Russian family life, the life of the peasantry and how the younger generation interacted with the older generation (hence the title, "Fathers and Sons" although the original Russian is called "Fathers and Children"). One of the main characters, Bazarov, is a self proclaimed nihilist who rejects all forms of authority, causing problems for the older generations (his parents & his friend's parents), but attracting the attention of the people of his (the younger) generation. This book has no real plot...it is merely the story of how one man brings his nihilist ideas into other peoples' lives & it gives accounts of everybody else's reactions to these nihilist ideas. It is an interesting book & a pretty quick read, but it can drag in places...especially if the reader is waiting for something interesting to happen. All in all, I believe this book is worth reading, if just to get a taste of "Old Russia", but if you are looking for an exciting "can't-put-it-down-sitting-on-the-edge-of-your-seat-page-turner", you won't find it in this book.

It's easy to get lost in a sub-plot and believe that this book is about a sociopolitical clash between the old and the new, with the new being a nihilist forerunner of Russian revolution. But the book is extremely weak in the area of political discussion. As a political statement this book would be a dismal failure. Fortunately, the little bit of oversimplified politics that was tossed carelessly into the book is fairly irrelevant to the story.

This book is as good as anything ever produced in Russian literature, in the class of Solzhenitsyn, Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy. It's good because it's emotional.

For me, the main character is one who appears for a very short time and seems to be a minor character - Bazarov's father. His love of his son, and the relationship between Arkady and his father, are what the book is named after, and what it's about. I love the protest that Bazarov's father makes to God.

Two school graduates, Arkady and Bazarov, return home to their families after years away at school. Nihilist Bazarov clashes with Arkady's traditionalist uncle, but don't all generations clash a little over something. That's part of the relationship. Both young men fall in love with local women. I think Arkady and Katia would be great together. She would treat him like a king and lead him by the nose, and he would adore her his whole life and do whatever she told him to do.

In Turgenev's Fathers and Sons, as in most of Chekhov, nothing much really happens. People talk a lot and that's about it. Should be dull, right? But it isn't. The talk, and the characters revealed, reflect the profound changes that were being felt in Russian society at the end of the 19th Century; changes that would set the stage for much of what was to happen in the 20th Century. But more important to a modern reader, the ideas and the real life implication of those ideas are as current and relevant as when Turgenev wrote. Bazarov, the young 'nihilist', sounds just like the typical student rebel of the 60's (or of the Seattle WTO protests just recently). He has the arrogance and the innocence of idealistic youth. He is as believeable, and as moving in his ultimate hurt, as any young person today might be confronted with the limitations of idealism and the fickle tyranny of personal passion.

I loved this book when I first read it as a teenager and I enjoyed it even more on subsequent rereadings. It makes the world of 19th century Russia seem strangely familiar and it gives many a current political thread a grounding in meaningful history.

This book awed me. I marvel at Alain de Botton's attention to detail. He has unraveled the many mysteries of romantic love. And he does it with a great deal of wit and irony. A woman named Chloe on a Paris flight to London smites the nameless narrator, and by the time they reach the baggage claim, he knows he has fallen in love. From then on, Alain charts the different stages of love -- from the blissful beginning to the heart-wrenching ending. I have found some interesting things in this book, like the fact that one's attempt at being charming on a first date consists in not doing or saying a lot of things one would normally say or do. Having experienced this, I utterly agree with the author. In fact, this book helped me understand many things about relationships. I love the philosophies and the theories that were illustrated in his writing. This dissertation/novel is one of the most complex and most intellectually stimulating pieces of literature I have ever read. This is -- without a stretch of doubt -- the human's guide to romantic love. I strongly suggest that you read and reflect on the chapters in this novel. Believe me, you will love it!

Alain de Botton really got famous around the time of How Proust can change your life and he's cemented his reptuation with his new book The Consolations of Philosophy. Both of them are great, but recently, I found this book, his first one, and I was completely, I mean, completely blown away. If you've read and in any way enjoyed de botton's past books, I think you'll love this one. It's got all the strengths of his writing; the analysis, the humour, the clarity, the elegance. But it's also got passion, it feels like you're reading the private thought of a man in love (in a good way). It taught me so much about myself, it reminded me of things I'd felt, but perhaps never been able to express. It made me feel a sense of community; like when you put down a book and think, 'Hey, I'm not all alone, there's someone out there who thinks like me.' It REALLY annoys me that the way publishing works, the best books sometimes never get promoted. Why were there ads all over the New York Times for de Botton's Consolations of Philosophy, but nothing for this one. This book was published in 1993 and sank without trace. It's published by Grove Atlantic, when actually, it's the kind of book that deserves to outsell Nick Hornby. I hear in Britain de Botton is really really well known; and I guess that's the way it should be. Anyways, On Love is a terrific read. To my mind, BETTER than his last two books; much better and fresher and more heartfelt. Go for it.

If readers don't want to think about love (or wince from personal recognition), they have no one to blame but themselves. De Botton's title serves as sufficient warning as to what this book is about. Young or old, straight or gay, anyone who has ever submitted to the experience of falling in love is bound to identify with either the narrator (who sounds remarkably like the de Botton of HOW PROUST CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE) or his beloved, Chloe.

As I read this book--which includes chapters entitled "The Subtext of Seduction," "Marxism," "The Fear of Happiness," "Romantic Terrorism," and "The Jesus Complex"--I kept puzzling over de Botton's subtitle, "a novel." Was this tack something he chose as a way of preventing friends and family from offering advice and consolation (which are usually self-serving and misplaced), or as a way of preventing ex-girlfriends from seeing themselves in the relatively pleasing portrait he paints of Chloe? Whatever his intention, he has stetched the definition of the novel in an interesting way. The basic love story between the narrator and Chloe travels its predictable path in an uneventful, but quirky, way. Neither comes off as a villain or victim, though both can be quite nauseatingly cute or petty at times. Through it all they remain convincingly human and we are drawn into their foibles, insecurities, squabbles, and desires. In short, they "live" as fictional characters. Even the narrator's hyper-reflective attitude is not bothersome. These analytical reflections read like diary entries; but the reader has evidence that the narrator has the good sense not to let Chloe know how much time he spends THINKING about his feelings for her. And it is these reflections, after all, that make the novel such a fun and thought-provoking experience for the reader.

Like On Love and Kiss & Tell, Botton uses the fiction format to examine a romantic relationship from beginning to end in witty and telling detail. Like these other two books, there are diagrams and charts sprinkled throughout to illustrate various analogies and examples. Here, the relationship is between a 24-year old London woman and a professionally and financial successful 30ish man. As with the other books, there is a lot to be gotten out of de Botton's crisp prose. Read it.

Alain de Botton manages to expertly weave much psychology, philosophy & humour into this brilliant work - it's the kind of book you can read year after year (believe me, I have!) & each time you'll get even more out of it. De Botton is truly a ripper of a writer & I can't recommend this book enough -> if you're looking for an author who really seems to understand not only you, but much of the human condition, you can't go past him. Read it & love it!

At last! Someone succeeded to write a decent book about love as "we" "suffer" from it ! Alain de Botton is ingenious in the sense of being plain yet very deep without being unnecessarily and torturously complicated. He also has a very nice sense of humour. I sincerely would like to thank him for being such a friendly writer. Forget "Mars and Venus", your therapist, etc. Just read this book and feel as "being understood and helped"... If this book becomes a recommended highschool reading, then the world would be a less painful place...

Alain De Botton takes six philosophers - Socrates, Epicurus, Seneca, Montaigne, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche - and examines their work for insights that can give us consolation for problems we may face now. We can turn to Socrates when we're feeling unpopular, and come away consoled. Not enough money? No worry, just turn to Epicurus for what's more important than money. Relationship woes? Listen to Schopenhauer. And so on.

I have a number of problems both with the approach and its execution. First, I don't believe that philosophy at its best is just an alternative to "Dear Abby". And not because I think that it should be instead a matter of esoteric theory. I'm convinced that it's even more practical than de Botton seems to realize. The great philosophers provide us with ideas that are central for better understanding our lives and flourishing in the world. They don't just offer us consolations for our difficulties and failures. It's true that many people don't think of philosophy until they face hardship, but the enterprise of philosophy itself is much more than whatever problem solving resources the great thinkers may indeed offer. Second, I have objections to how this author pairs philosophers and problems. I would never go to Schopenhaur for advice, or even perspective, on relationship trouble. Third, even when de Botton gets the pairing of philosopher and problem right, in my view he often misses the best of what his philosopher has to offer.

Let me give an example. De Botton turns to Socrates as a man who didn't mind not being popular. When we ourselves feel unappreciated, when we are swimming against the current, we should turn to Socrates for consolation, de Botton believes. Why? Well, Socrates worked hard to help the Athenians of his time to become more philosophical about their lives, and as a result they voted to have him executed. Socrates could have given up his quest to bring real wisdom into people's lives and thereby avoided the death penalty, but he stood firm in what he thought was right. The consolation his example offers, de Botton claims, is that, like him, we can take comfort in potentially being vindicated by "posterity." Socrates, after all, has been judged by subsequent generations to have been one of the greatest of human beings, because of his relentless pursuit of wisdom, despite the unpopularity of his quest.

But this is not how Socrates consoled himself. He did not find it within himself to stand firm against the crowd and persist in his unpopular course because he trusted that posterity would redeem his memory. He did it because he was convinced it was the right thing to do, whatever posterity might think. In fact, he believed that he was on a mission from God, and thus would allow nothing on earth to dissuade him from completing his appointed task.

Posterity had nothing to do with it. And that's a good thing, since most of us can't look to posterity as our ultimate court of appeals. The distant future won't likely pay that much attention to the majority of us, perhaps including even Mr. de Botton. So it's not a very convincing mental stratagem to entrust ourselves to its higher judgments. But we can do what Socrates in fact did. We can persist in doing what we think is right whether it is popular or not, precisely because we are convinced that it is right. We can even dig deeper and, again like Socrates, anchor ourselves to the ultimate spiritual supports available to any of us. All this, de Botton seems to miss.

I started off not liking this book at all. But by the time I finished it, my feelings had changed a bit. I had even come to like it. In a way. Not so much as a book of philosophy, but more like a very personal revelation of how bits of philosophy have affected one man. If you view this book as just a personal report on how reading philosophy can touch a sensitive and intelligent person, it takes on a very different look. I'm glad the author wrote it.

If you'd like to see a longer assessment, come to visit www.MorrisInstitute.com, where I invite your response as well.

Alain de Botton is one of those people who has learned true wisdom from philosophy, successfully steering a middle course between technical trivia and sappy mysticism.

In his witty, readable, picture-laden book, de Botton introduces the reader to six philosophers - Socrates, Epicurus, Seneca, Montaigne, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche - whose philosophical thought and actual lives provide the reader with a roadmap, founded entirely on reason and experience, for how to escape some of the deepest sources of unhappiness in the world.

For the reader who is less interested in problem-solving in metaphysics and epistemology (important though these things are), and more interested in philosophy as a guide to living a good life, de Botton's book will not disappoint.

I will keep this short and simple. Alain De Botton is the most accessible and yet profound writer on philosophy that I have come across. This particular work is not only fascinating, but life changing as well. I first read his most recent book, The Art of Travel, and it convinced me of De Botton's genius. The Art of Travel is fabulous, but for those not as interested in the philosophy of travel, The Consolation of Philosophy is the perfect book to make you a fan of De Botton's work. It addresses questions and issues that we all face including difficult and unpopular choices, sexual, cultural, and intellectual inadequacy, a broken heart, and a lack of money. Brilliant, witty, a true masterpiece. I look forward to all that is to come from this incredibly talented writer.

Some of this book is brillant. De Botton thoughts on memory and how we view relationships can be amazing. He also can be funny. I was impressed with many of his ideas. On the other hand, by page 150 or so, I found the constant analysis of biographic form to be grating. I can see why Isabel felt as she did at time (although she is no great woman by any means). Again (as in On Love, a far superior book), we have a nameless narrator and no details on his life. Oh well. It is amusing at times, but not worth the time invested. Alas, I shall fall silent now.

After finishing Alain de Botton's biography/novel KISS AND TELL, I found myself hoping on behalf of its putative subject Isabel Jane Rogers that this work is more fiction than fact. Or at least that "Isabel" is a composite of every young woman the author ever dated and not a real individual person. Although de Botton catalogs many of "Isabel's" quirky habits (her poor sense of geography, the way she picks her nose and chews on the callouses on her fingers, etc.), he exhibits enough of his own dubious traits (for instance, he admits letting her plants die unwatered while devouring half a box of her chocolates while house-sitting for her one time) to give us a sense that in some unprovable way, he is at least playing fair.

But under this delicious patina of pettiness, there are a number of more serious subjects. Such as the nature of biography itself. And whether our versions of ourselves are any more reliable than those of an outside observer. The nature of memory. And a comparison of the virtues and liabilities of the fat, detail-obsessed Boswelian biographies versus the "toast-sized", summary-style biographical sketches of an Aubrey. (Anyone who has read--or tried to write--an obituary for a family member will find the chapter "In Search of an Ending" fascinating.) And anyone who is familiar with de Botton's other works will not be surprised how he manages to draw the likes of Marcel Proust, Adam Smith, Frederick Nietzsche, Tolstoy, and Hippocrates into the conversation, as well as zany bits of pop psychology like graphology, palmistry, and magazine personality questionnaires. To support the trope that KISS AND TELL is a real biography, de Botton even provides a 12-page, fully functioning index (complete with entries on "toenails" and "sex.") As a work of fiction, KISS AND TELL isn't nearly as interesting as his earlier novel, ON LOVE, but it is an amusing book...and it will make you think about your own quirks and self-delusions.

Outstanding fictional examination of how we perceive each other as humans as well as the art and form of biography. The narrator, derided as being self-absorbed, decides to write a biography of the next person he meets. Thus, we are treated to his attempt to do this with "Isabel", a young London woman he meets at a party. De Botton spins it all with a very light, often comic, touch, and yet manages to raise some fairly deep issues relating to how our perceptions of others are formed and shape our actions. Very good stuff which makes me want to find his other work and read it immediately. Fans of "High Fidelity" will likely find this a slightly higher-brow, but very enjoyable book. See also "On Love" and "The Romantic Movement."

I bought this book mainly because I saw that it had an introduction by Alain de Botton, author of THE CONSOLATIONS OF PHILOSOPHY, and because I've been wanting to become more familiar with the works of Plato. First of all, the "Introduction," only six pages long, should have been called a "Foreword." It was clearly something de Botton had written on another occasion or without reference to the work it was going to be attached to. While it is interesting in its own right, it's the sort of thing a person could read very easily while standing in the aisle of a bookstore.

THE ESSENTIAL PLATO is essentially a repackaging of a public domain work (The Quality Paperback Book Club seems to do a lot of this sort of thing). In fairness, it presents hefty chunks of Plato's works (The Republic and The Trial and Death of Socrates in full, plus selections from sixteen other works). The translation is by Benjamin Jowett, first published in 1871. According to the Oxford Companion to English Literature this was a popular translation in its day, though one that was criticized by scholars. It's surprisingly modern and very readable. De Botton's introduction is followed by short introductions on Plato's Life, Writings, and Philosophy. They are uncredited, but I suspect they were authored either by Jowett or by the editorial staff of the original publisher. Each work has an extensive introduction of its own (also uncredited). While the introductions seem thorough and the information they give plausible, I kept finding myself wondering if they didn't represent "old scholarship." There are no annotations, cross-references, or any other helps.

Not a rip-off exactly, but I'm sure I'm going to have to look elsewhere for definitive editions of Plato's works.

Plato is classic. What more is there to say? And it's about time there was a single, inexpensive collection of his work like this. This is a must have volume for anyone interested in philosphy.

A reviewer wrote- "I'ts hard to imagine how Proust can change your life if you don't actually read Proust". That is true, but then on the other hand, never, while reading this book, did I get the impression that Alain de Botton was trying to replace Proust. I don't think he was trying to offer a guide to Proust, nor trying to write literary criticism or anything like that: After finishing the book, the impression I got was that this is more a self-help book (and quite a witty and funny one, actually, much better than the usual saccharine-sweet self help books) and less a book about Proust. The good thing is that "How Proust can change your life" will probably give you an appetite for more Marcel Proust...and that has to do with the clarity and lightness of touch with which de Botton writes: you can't resist his admiration for Proust, even though you might have objections to the way he chose to express this admiration: but then who says that books about philosophy or about literature have to be dead serious and heavy? I think Alain de Botton has written an original book, a book that's a kind of experiment, as it combines self-help insights with good literature and important ideas. If you read this as such, as an interesting experiment which may bring more people to Proust, then you won't really be able to find any fault in the book.

Then, as a chocolate truffle comes at the end of a seven course meal and threatens to dissolve the wonders of all the complexities of taste that had come previously to the pallate, came Alain de Botton's How Proust Can Change Your Life--for, having been introduced to Proust, like M. Botton, at an early age, perhaps too early to appreciate it to the fullest degree possible, yet grateful for the experience, I had taken the full meal before the truffle--and I was filled with a sense of new taste, and new desires for old tastes; yet I also marvelled how the book remained light, well-informed of but unburdened by the labyrinthine Proustian sentence structure and syntax (which is featured on a particular page containing the longest sentence in literature--Proust's, of course); and I found new clarity in all my emotions, especially in how much I hated James Joyce, all through the instruction of this book; which I must admit is far better if you have taken the year off and read In Search of Lost Time; and it occured to me that one could easily talk of any chapter of this book in analysis, which is a high, high compliment, for it indicates that an experience with a book can penetrated one's very psyche; and what better is there in the book than the Proustian paradoxical discovery of finding all complexities of beauty in the simple, the uncomplicated, the serene--this is a great book, which makes, unlike so many books, an exceedingly gracious exit, advising us, importantly--perhaps saving our lives!--how to ESCAPE from the spell of great books, of which this may be one, and which certainly derives from the richest seven-course meal the French have yet offered the world.

I can see where this book might rub some people the wrong way. People with an old fashioned dedication to literature probably won't appreciate Alain de Botton's clever re-contextualizing of Proust within the modern genre of self-help. I might feel similarly if de Botton claimed to be writing a real self-help book or a serious examination of Proust, but he never attempts to perform either feat.

Instead, de Botton accomplishes several things. He parodies self-help books, he undertakes a humorous and highly personal exploration of Proust, and he makes a witty argument about how literature can aid us in our daily lives. The heart of de Botton's message is actually paradoxical. From one perspective he is saying, "don't take literature too seriously" and from another he is saying, "literature is a critical tool in everyone's life".

I believe that all of us essentially reinvent what we read and use it to interpret our lives and the world around us. De Botton simply provides a humorous and intelligent blue print of this natural process.

Alain De Botton's latest publication, ~The Art of Travel~ is a philosophical investigation, simply written, on the reasons and motivations for why we travel. The book's main thesis is that our lives are dominated by a search for that illusive and fleeting emotion or state known as happiness. Travel, he proposes, is a major activity, amongst many, where we seek-out this state of mind. Travel can possibly show us what life is about outside our routine-filled day-to-day existence. The book examines our motives for travelling, our anticipations, and expectations using the writings of various artists, poets and explorers, providing different and highly creative perspectives on the subject.

Personally, I found the most rewarding and instructive chapter to be, 'On eye-opening Art', using the views and paintings of Vincent van Gogh. Just as instructive, however, is the chapter, 'On Possessing Beauty', drawing on the works of the 19th century critic and writer, John Ruskin. The message from both these individuals are quite similar. One of the tasks of art, specifically painting, is to provide us, the viewer, with new perspectives in which to view the world. Vincent van Gogh's exceedingly original style and use of colour, for example, transformed, for some of us, the way we see a sunflower, a wheat field and a Cypress tree. When viewing these works of art, or any work of art, we are inspired to travel to these places where the artist created, and experience the subject of the works first-hand.

John Ruskin believed that one of our primary needs in life is beauty and its possession. He suggested that the only meaningful way to possess beauty was through understanding it: '...making ourselves conscious of the factors (psychological and visual) that are responsible for it,' (P.220) The way to attain this understanding, he suggests, is to draw and write (word paint) those things and places we come across in our travels that strike us as beautiful. A person sitting down in front of an expansive landscape, and sketching its many features, will discover aspects about the scene that would be invisible to the casual observer. When travelling, take the time to draw and write about those places and things one sees, and the experience will be much richer as a result.

~The Art of Travel~ is a helpful philosophical guide to the budding and seasoned traveller. Where other books on the subject instruct us on where to go and what to see, Alain De Botton tells us how to approach our journeys and some useful tools on achieving a much more meaningful and rewarding experience.

De Botton's book is another that I came across at the library in which I work. I was so enamored of it that I had to own it (3 cheers for Amazon!) The book is a series of essays ("On Anticipation", "On the Exotic", "On Possessing Beauty", etc.) interspersed with black&white reproductions of paintings and photographs.

Each essay/chapter contains a place/places and a "guide/guides." For example, in #2 ("On Travelling Places"), the "guides" are French poet Charles Baudelaire and American painter Edward Hopper. Using quotes from the former and paintings from the latter, de Botton evokes the romance of airports and train stations and other places of arrival & departure--how they are the stuff of hopes, dreams, inspirations.

He also writes of the joy of the journey itself, where one is transported not only away from the physical familiarity of home, but into a state of suspension, where--for a time--the worries & complaints of everyday living don't exist. I have experienced this sensation as well as the joys of anonymity--an experience which can transform even a cheap motel room into a sanctuary from daily demands.

Hightly recommended.

In his chapter called "On Eye-opening Art", Alain de Botton describes his lukewarm initial reaction to the much-extolled Provence, France. Then, in a sleepless first night there, he happened to read chapters in a book about Vincent Van Gogh that focussed on Van Gogh's Arles period. Van Gogh's art opened de Botton's eyes to the beauty of the landscape, because he started to see it as that great artist had. I mention this detail in particular because what Van Gough did for de Botton, de Botton does for the reader. "The Art of Travel" introduces the reader to an attitude toward and practice of travel that allows him or her to enjoy it more fully. de Botton's suggestions and observations are surprising, of the "Huh, I never thought about that" variety.
de Botton is well read, and he draws upon his knowledge of artists, philosophers, naturalists and poets, combined with first-person narrative, to illuminate his points. If you take the author's suggestions to heart, wherever you go -- across the globe or in your own neighborhood -- you will immerse yourself in your wanderings to a greater and more satisfying degree.
Having said that, I should add that this book is not just a means to an end. The journey itself is enjoyable. de Botton's writing is as engaging as his philosophy is attractive.