Product Description

In the tradition of such trailblazing books as No Logo and The Tipping Point, In Praise of Slow heralds a growing international movement of people dedicated to slowing down the pace of our contemporary times and enjoying a richer, fuller life as a result.

These days, almost everyone complains about the hectic pace of their lives. We live in a world where speed rules and everyone is under pressure to go faster. But when speed is king, anyone or anything that gets in our way, that slows us down, becomes an enemy. Thanks to speed, we are living in the age of rage.

Carl Honore has discovered a movement that is quickly working its way into the mainstream. Groups of people are developing a recipe for living better in a fast-paced, modern environment by striving for a new balance between fast and slow. In an entertaining and hands-on investigation of this new movement, Honore takes us from a Tantric sex workshop in a trendy neighbourhood in London, England to Bra, Italy, the home of the Slow Food, Slow Cities and Slow Sex movements. He examines how we can continue to live productive lives by embracing the tenets of the slow movement.

A challenging take on the cult of speed, as well as a corrective look at how we can approach our lives with new understanding, In Praise of Slow uncovers a movement whose time has come.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1129672 in Books
• Published on: 2005-01-07
• Format: Import
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
"Try reading this book one chapter a day -- it is worth allowing its subversive message to sink slowly in so it has a chance of changing your life." -- Bill McKibben, author of Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age and The End of Nature

"The speed of life borders on insanity for an increasing number of us, and the price we pay is the erosion of our happiness and health. If you sometimes feel engulfed by the mad pace of modern life -- and who doesn't? -- Carl Honoré's In Praise of Slow could prove life-saving." -- Larry Dossey, MD -- Author:  Healing Beyond the Body and Reinventing Medicine

"In this terrific book, Carl Honoré gets to the heart of what's ailing western industrial societies -- our obsession with productivity, speed and consumerism -- but he doesn't stop with the gloom and doom.  Instead, he shows the way out, with inspiring examples from the growing worldwide "slow " movement.   Take the time to read this important, excellently written  book -- our future depends on the ideas it contains!" -- John de Graaf, co-author, Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic, and editor, Take BackYour Time

From the Inside Flap
In the tradition of such trailblazing books as No Logo and The Tipping Point, In Praise of Slow heralds a growing international movement of people dedicated to slowing down the pace of our contemporary times and enjoying a richer, fuller life as a result.

These days, almost everyone complains about the hectic pace of their lives. We live in a world where speed rules and everyone is under pressure to go faster. But when speed is king, anyone or anything that gets in our way, that slows us down, becomes an enemy. Thanks to speed, we are living in the age of rage.

Carl Honore has discovered a movement that is quickly working its way into the mainstream. Groups of people are developing a recipe for living better in a fast-paced, modern environment by striving for a new balance between fast and slow. In an entertaining and hands-on investigation of this new movement, Honore takes us from a Tantric sex workshop in a trendy neighbourhood in London, England to Bra, Italy, the home of the Slow Food, Slow Cities and Slow Sex movements. He examines how we can continue to live productive lives by embracing the tenets of the slow movement.

A challenging take on the cult of speed, as well as a corrective look at how we can approach our lives with new understanding, In Praise of Slow uncovers a movement whose time has come.

About the Author
Carl Honore is a Canadian journalist living in London, England. He has written for The Globe and Mail, the National Post, The Guardian and The Economist. While researching this book in Italy, he was slapped with a speeding ticket.

Customer Reviews

My 100-word book review
In Praise of Slow is a book to be savoured and enjoyed at your leisure. If you, like me, tend to do everything much too fast, you will find a welcome antidote within these pages. Before reading it, I had no idea what the Slow Movement was, or what it stood for, and was pleasantly surprised to find an alternative to the modern culture of instant everything. Carl Honoré's style is relaxed and chatty. As a convert from the cult of speed, he builds a good case for taking the right amount of time to do the things that matter.

Introduces consideration of the speed in which we do things to most aspects of life
Carl Honore's "In Praise of Slow: How a Worldwide Movement Is Challenging the Cult of Speed" does pretty much what it says on the tin, discussing how to introduce consideration of the speed in which we do things to most aspects of life. It's an enjoyable read, and while I don't feel I need most of its message -I'm fairly well up on taking things as slowly as they deserve- I got some new ideas. I've played with some of the suggestions, and it's certainly been interesting - my urge to multi-task, for example, which asserts itself constantly irrespective of how inadequate I may be at it, can be quelled enough for me to enjoy just doing one thing. This requires much concentration, but it's nice to find out that I -can- do it if necessary. One of my favourite quotes from the book is Einstein's not Honore's: "Computers are incredibly fast, accurate and stupid. Human beings are incredibly slow, inaccurate and brilliant."

Great book club material
We chose this book for our book club and it proved to be a great choice. It's very well written, researched and argued. The author sums up the dominant problem of the modern world, that there is too much speed in everything we do, and gives lots of cool examples from around the world of how "slow" is helping people live, work, whatever better. I recognized myself in some of the examples of pointless hurry and laughed out loud a few times. It's just an awesome read and everyone in this insane too-fast culture of ours should pick up a copy. All the members of our group enjoyed the book and we had our best debate in a long time. I already know what some of my faster friends are getting for Christmas.