The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work - LIVE Shorts

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The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work: Alain de Botton in conversation with Paul Holdengräber, LIVE from the NYPL, June 8, 2009.

We spend much of our lives at work but surprisingly little is written about what makes work both one of the most exciting and most painful of all our activities.

London-based author Alain de Botton explores the joys and perils of the modern workplace. In The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, he wonders about what other people get up to all day and night to make the frenzied contemporary world function. He looks at an eclectic range of occupations, from rocket science to biscuit manufacture, accountancy to art, in search of what make jobs either fulfilling or soul-destroying.

In discussion with Paul Holdengräber, de Botton addresses the questions we all ask of our work: - What is the right job for me? - How can I make the most of my talents? - What if my job ceases to exist?

The discussion investigates work activity as something as central to a good life as love, but which we often find remarkably hard to reflect on properly.


Filming & Editing: Otesanek Productions
Sound: One Dream Sound

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People & Blogs

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• Alain de Botton
• work
• jobs
• LIVE from the NYPL
• Shorts
• New York Public Library

[claudiaforcutie]

I really enjoyed reading Status Anxiety as well as The Consolations of Philosophy. As a recent college graduate, I am looking forward to reading this book. Thank you NYPL for posting this conversation.