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Title: In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed (Plus)
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Manufacturer: HarperOne
List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $5.00
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| Customer Reviews: |
| In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed (Plus) by HarperOne changing my life | | This book is quite simply changing my life - the way I live, eat, move, work, drive, interact with people; well, the list goes on and on. My life is so much richer now. It is one of the most important books I have ever read. | | In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed (Plus) by HarperOne In Praise of Slowness | "Evolution works on the principle of the fittest not the fastest. Remember who won the race between the tortoise and the hare."
This quote by Carl Honore, a London based journalist and self-confessed speedaholic, is taken from my favourite book, 'In Praise of Slowness' read (twice) in 2004 and again in 2005 and 2007.
As a young man in my early 20s in Scotland someone in business that I greatly respected gave me similar advice and its been a guiding principle for me ever since. It's one I make a point of refocussing on at the beginning of each year and with Carl Honore's book that has now become a lot easier.
In this book, "In Praise Of Slowness", Fast and Slow do more than just describe a rate of change. They are shorthand for ways of being, or philosophies of life. Fast is busy, controlling, aggressive, hurried, analytical, stressed, superficial, impatient, active, quantity-over-quality. Slow is the opposite: calm, careful, receptive, still, intuitive, unhurried, patient, reflective, quality-over-quantity. It is about making real and meaningful connections - with people, culture, work, food, everything.
If you want a good read to challenge your thinking and help you re-look at your life, I can certainly recommend it as the perfect gift to yourself.
| | In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed (Plus) by HarperOne Great concepts....applicable and inspiring message. | | Happened upon this guy's website thanks to a quote from this book off of a blog I frequent. Couldn't help but to buy this book out of curiosity. I am a multi-tasker, time-management freak, so I needed something to help me remember to slow down and take it easy. Great research/statistics in this book draw you in at the get-go. Applicable hints and tips on how to achieve a slower, more enjoyable, lifestyle keep you hooked till the end. The only thing I was weird about was the meditation/new age philosophies, but I looked past that for the parts I did agree with. Bravo. | | In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed (Plus) by HarperOne Great if you want to jump off the treadmill - at least sometimes | | This is an interesting and inspiring book, offering an alternative view to speed as king and faster, more, harder are always better. The author explores a variety of ways that people all over the world are slowing down and putting the emphasis on quality and savouring the experience - whether that be in terms of food, exercise, sex or work. Personally, I found a lot of the content just confirmed what I already thought and tried to put into practice myself, but it was still good to hear and there were some interesting ideas new to me. The style of writing is part investigative, part historical and part narrative. This makes for entertaining reading but sometimes it feels a little too light-weight. I got the impression that the author was overly concerned not to appear a mad convert to the slow way of life. Overall, though, this is a good book and well worth setting aside the time to relax and read in true slow style... especially if you are stressed out and (think you) don't have the time. | | In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed (Plus) by HarperOne In Praise of Slowness:Challenging theCult of Speed | | Living in Sweden, this book was given the highest standard of praise in my local newspaper. However, it was not what I had expected when I began to read it in English (my native language). Perhaps the translated version into Swedish was better than the original version. It was o.k., but not as good as the Swedish critic gave it honors for. | | In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed (Plus) by HarperOne Product Description | We live in the age of speed. We strain to be more efficient, to cram more into each minute, each hour, each day. Since the Industrial Revolution shifted the world into high gear, the cult of speed has pushed us to a breaking point. Consider these facts: Americans on average spend seventy-two minutes of every day behind the wheel of a car, a typical business executive now loses sixty-eight hours a year to being put on hold, and American adults currently devote on average a mere half hour per week to making love. Living on the edge of exhaustion, we are constantly reminded by our bodies and minds that the pace of life is spinning out of control. In Praise of Slowness traces the history of our increasingly breathless relationship with time and tackles the consequences of living in this accelerated culture of our own creation. Why are we always in such a rush? What is the cure for time sickness? Is it possible, or even desirable, to slow down? Realizing the price we pay for unrelenting speed, people all over the world are reclaiming their time and slowing down the pace -- and living happier, healthier, and more productive lives as a result. A Slow revolution is taking place. Here you will find no Luddite calls to overthrow technology and seek a preindustrial utopia. This is a modern revolution, championed by cell-phone using, e-mailing lovers of sanity. The Slow philosophy can be summed up in a single word -- balance. People are discovering energy and efficiency where they may have been least expected -- in slowing down. In this engaging and entertaining exploration, award-winning journalist and rehabilitated speedaholic Carl Honoré details our perennial love affair with efficiency and speed in a perfect blend of anecdotal reportage, history, and intellectual inquiry. In Praise of Slowness is the first comprehensive look at the worldwide Slow movements making their way into the mainstream -- in offices, factories, neighborhoods, kitchens, hospitals, concert halls, bedrooms, gyms, and schools. Defining a movement that is here to stay, this spirited manifesto will make you completely rethink your relationship with time. |
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