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A Week at the Airport

By Alain De Botton

By Alain De Botton

By Alain De Botton

By Alain De Botton

Best Seller

Part of Vintage International

Part of Vintage International

Paperback $18.95

Sep 21, 2010 | ISBN 9780307739674

Ebook $14.99

Sep 21, 2010 | ISBN 9780307742698

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    A Week at the Airport by Alain De Botton
    Paperback $18.95
    Sep 21, 2010 | ISBN 9780307739674

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    • Paperback $18.95

      Sep 21, 2010 | ISBN 9780307739674

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      Sep 21, 2010 | ISBN 9780307742698

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    About A Week at the Airport

    From the bestselling author of The Art of Travel comes a wittily intriguing exploration of the strange “non-place” that he believes is the imaginative center of our civilization.

    Given unprecedented access to one of the world’s busiest airports as a “writer-in-residence,” Alain de Botton found it to be a showcase for many of the major crosscurrents of the modern world—from our faith in technology to our destruction of nature, from our global interconnectedness to our romanticizing of the exotic. He met travelers from all over and spoke with everyone from baggage handlers to pilots to the airport chaplain. Weaving together these conversations and his own observations—of everything from the poetry of room service menus to the eerie silence in the middle of the runway at midnight—de Botton has produced an extraordinary meditation on a place that most of us never slow down enough to see clearly. Lavishly illustrated in color by renowned photographer Richard Baker, A Week at the Airport reveals the airport in all its turbulence and soullessness and—yes—even beauty.

    About A Week at the Airport

    From the bestselling author of The Art of Travel comes a wittily intriguing exploration of the strange “non-place” that he believes is the imaginative center of our civilization.

    Given unprecedented access to one of the world’s busiest airports as a “writer-in-residence,” Alain de Botton found it to be a showcase for many of the major crosscurrents of the modern world—from our faith in technology to our destruction of nature, from our global interconnectedness to our romanticizing of the exotic. He met travelers from all over and spoke with everyone from baggage handlers to pilots to the airport chaplain. Weaving together these conversations and his own observations—of everything from the poetry of room service menus to the eerie silence in the middle of the runway at midnight—de Botton has produced an extraordinary meditation on a place that most of us never slow down enough to see clearly. Lavishly illustrated in color by renowned photographer Richard Baker, A Week at the Airport reveals the airport in all its turbulence and soullessness and—yes—even beauty.

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Also by Alain De Botton

    How to Take Your Time
    The News: A User's Manual
    Religion for Atheists
    The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work
    The Architecture of Happiness
    See all books by Alain De Botton

    Also by Alain De Botton

    How to Take Your Time
    The News: A User's Manual
    Religion for Atheists
    The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work
    The Architecture of Happiness
    See all books by Alain De Botton

    About Alain De Botton

    Alain de Botton is the author of nonfiction works on subjects ranging from love and travel to architecture and philosophy. His most recent work, The News: A User’s Manual, will be released by Pantheon Books in February of 2014. His best-selling… More about Alain De Botton

    About Alain De Botton

    Alain de Botton is the author of nonfiction works on subjects ranging from love and travel to architecture and philosophy. His most recent work, The News: A User’s Manual, will be released by Pantheon Books in February of 2014. His best-selling… More about Alain De Botton

    Product Details

    Category: Reference | Travel Writing | Philosophy

    Paperback | $18.95
    Published by Vintage
    Sep 21, 2010 | 112 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780307739674

    Category: Reference | Travel Writing | Philosophy

    Ebook | $14.99
    Published by Vintage
    Sep 21, 2010 | 120 Pages | ISBN 9780307742698

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    Praise

    “Simultaneously poignant and terribly funny . . . De Botton’s most imaginative work yet.” —Spectator
     
    “Funny, charming, and slender enough to pack in your carry-on.” —Daily Mail
     
    “Surprising. . . . His observations on airport life are wry and thought-provoking.” —Telegraph
     
    “Shrewd, perceptive and gently ironic.” —Independent

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