This set includes 3 Alain de Botton’s books: Status Anxiety , The Art of Travel , The Architecture of Happiness .

Status Anxiety

We all worry about what others think of us. We all long to succeed and fear failure. We all suffer - to a greater or lesser degree, usually privately and with embarrassment - from status anxiety. For the first time, Alain de Botton gives a name to this universal condition and sets out to investigate both its origins and possible solutions. He looks at history, philosophy, economics, art and politics - and reveals the many ingenious ways that great minds have overcome their worries. The result is a book that is not only entertaining and thought-provoking - but genuinely wise and helpful as well.

The Art of Travel

"Lucid, fluid, uplifting" SUNDAY TIMES

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 mini-bars, airports to sight-seeing.

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 suggests how we might be happier on our journeys.

The Architecture of Happiness

Bestselling author Alain de Botton has written about love, travel, status and how philosophy can console us. Now he turns his attention to one of our most intense but often hidden love affairs: with our houses and their furnishings. He asks: What makes a house truly beautiful?Why are many new houses so ugly?Why do we argue so bitterly about sofas and pictures – and can differences of taste ever be satisfactorily resolved?Will minimalism make us happier than ornaments?

To answer these questions and many more, de Botton looks at buildings across the world, from medieval wooden huts to modern skyscrapers; he examines sofas and cathedrals, tea sets and office complexes, and teases out a host of often surprising philosophical insights. The Architecture of Happiness will take you on a beguiling tour through the history and psychology of architecture and interior design, and will forever alter your relationship with buildings. It will change the way you look at your current home – and help you make the right decisions about your next one.