What people recommend, in their own words, with the receipt.
Writer on time and limitation; author of Four Thousand Weeks
5 things
Smile or Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America and the WorldBook Barbara Ehrenreich
This is a brilliant political polemic and a critique of the problematic effects of positive thinking.
Five Books interview where Burkeman names his five best books on the power of negative thinking
fivebooks.com ↗·2012-07-12
Awe: The Delights and Dangers of Our Eleventh EmotionBook Paul Pearsall
This is an amazing book that sketches out some alternatives to the very shallow and impractical positive-thinking approach to happiness.
Five Books interview where Burkeman names his five best books on the power of negative thinking
fivebooks.com ↗·2012-07-12
The Wisdom of InsecurityBook Alan Watts
This is a very thin book but a mind-blowing one. In many ways it was part of my motivation to write my book.
Five Books interview where Burkeman names his five best books on the power of negative thinking
fivebooks.com ↗·2012-07-12
Born Losers: A History of Failure in AmericaBook Scott Sandage
This is an historical account of changing attitudes towards failure. Sandage takes American culture as his focus, although I think his insights apply far beyond that.
Five Books interview where Burkeman names his five best books on the power of negative thinking
fivebooks.com ↗·2012-07-12
Letters from a StoicBook Seneca
I personally take from Seneca and the other Stoics a very interesting attitude towards negative emotions and situations.
Five Books interview where Burkeman names his five best books on the power of negative thinking
fivebooks.com ↗·2012-07-12
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