Synopses & Reviews
Baggini does a wonderful job of showing the complexity of a topic that on the surface seems very simple. His clear writing style and presentation makes this a very engaging book that will appeal to a wide range of readers.--Library Journal
Oh, wouldn't the world be dull and flat with nothing whatever to grumble at?--W.S. Gilbert
This book could change the way we live . . . a relaxed, affable, yet startlingly lucid analysis of humanity's tendency to complain. It should be compulsory reading.--The Independent
An enjoyably astringent and wry read.--Guardian
We love to complain, as letters pages, phone-ins, and blogs demonstrate. But there has been no book on the subject--until now.
Conversation would be extremely limited if we stopped complaining. But where once we complained about things that really mattered, now we groan about late trains and bad TV. Often our complaints are misguided: we think political parties should bicker less, but we also complain that there's nothing to choose between them.
Ranging from God's protests toward Adam and Eve to the French and American revolutions and the reaction to the war in Iraq, this book examines why we complain, the different kinds of complaints we make, why men and women complain about different things, and why the British complain less than Americans.
Julian Baggini is a British philosopher. His previous books include What's it all About?, The Duck That Won the Lottery, The Pig that Wants to be Eaten, and Welcome to Everytown. He is co-founder and editor of The Philosopher's Magazine.
Review
"Complaint should be compulsory reading. Politicians should be tested on it before being allowed to stand for office. Baggini may have sandbagged the polemicist's trade, but am I complaining? Not a bit." - The Independent
"[A]n enjoyably astringent and wry read." - The Guardian
"... popular philosophy of the best kind." - Financial Times
"Baggini is as accessible as ever." - Independent on Sunday
Synopsis
Baggini analyzes precisely what we complain about, how, and why. You can't complain about that!
Synopsis
'Popular philosophy of the best kind' Financial Times
All major social advances started with a complaint: Emmeline Pankhurst, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela each brought about change by protesting that the status quo was wrong and needed to be rethought. Complaint has revolutionised society - yet it is now associated primarily with trivial moans and frivolous litigation.
Renowned popular philosopher Julian Baggini shows that in order to reclaim complaint as a positive force, we need to know what we wrongly complain about, and why. He explores every kind of complaint, from the contradictory to the paranoid and the Luddite, and presents a unique and revealing survey into whether Britons complain more than Americans, men more than women, the old more than the young.
This fascinating, witty insight into an essential part of the human condition will help you find the best way to bridge the gap between how things are and how we think they ought to be.
About the Author
Julian Baggini is a British philosopher and writer. He is the author of Welcome to Everytown and The Pig that Wants to be Eaten and is a co-founder and editor of The Philosophers' Magazine. He has written for The Guardian, The Independent and many other publications, and is a regular guest on BBC Radio 4.