Industries in “The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work” Book Essay (Book Review)

The chapter Rocket Science tells about the business venture of the Japanese TV shows making team which has undertaken the steps in the reformation of the Japanese television. The purpose of the venture has been to expand the TV broadcasting in Japan. Taking into account the specificity of the geographic position of Japan and its natural landscape, the idea of locating TV stations on the islands has seemed to be very difficult to realize. However, the team found the way to embody their plans.

“They discovered that if they fired a satellite into space and, in particular, induced it to settle into an orbit at 110 degrees east, thirty-six thousand kilometres above the ground, they would then be able to beam down a signal to anyone with a modestly priced dish anywhere across their archipelago” (de Botton 89).

With these plans in mind, they have gone to Guinea to fire the satellite from its territory.

The chapter is rather interesting and it shows how the obstacles in the way of the dream realization can be overcome by the enthusiasm and motivation. However, I found the language a little bit confusing as the author narrates the story in a rather figurative way using a lot of metaphors.

The chapter Painting is devoted to Stephen Taylor, English artist, whose dedication to painting is so strong that he spends the most of his time depicting the nature. In the chapter, it is narrated how Taylor depicts the 250 years old tree situated in the field in East Anglia (de Botton 112). “He was overpowered by a feeling that something in this very ordinary tree was crying out to be set down in paint” (de Botton 113).

Undoubtedly, the dedication and enthusiasm of Taylor represents the pleasures which he enjoy from his occupation. However, I think the chapter is a little bit overloaded with the depiction of his painting, his artist instruments and techniques.

The chapter Transmission Engineering is about the hobby and occupation of the author’s new friend who he has met at the wedding reception of his wife’s cousin (de Botton 124). A man is working at the power station in Scotland and is captivated by the idea of installing electricity pylons in Scotland countryside (de Botton 124). The working enthusiasm and dedication to the occupation becomes the main point of the book’s chapter once again. However, the chapter is somewhat oversaturated with the technical details and even formulas which I consider as the details irrelevant for the main point of the chapter.

The main point which the author makes in the chapter Accountancy is the ‘pleasures and sorrows’ of work in the financial industry. He gives an example of the one of the biggest financial services firm and describes the life of its employees. In particular, he mentions the stressful environment in which they are working, the overtimes and business trips as well as the norms of professional conduct and dress-code not allowing them feeling themselves free (de Botton 19)..

“The headquarters on the bank of the Thames is the setting for a range of behaviours at least as peculiar as anything that an ethnographer might uncover among the clans of Samoa” (de Botton 145).

Taking into account the peculiarities of the modern society as well as the great number of people employed in finances, the information presented in the chapter touches upon the urgent theme for many people. At the same time, the author sometimes uses exaggerations in his description of the lifestyle of the employees, in my view.

In the chapter Entrepreneurship, the author touches upon the world of small business where the numerous entrepreneurs struggle for satisfying the needs of consumers and remaining in the market. “Entrepreneurship appears to be almost wholly dependent on a sense that the present order is an unreliable and cowardly indicator of the possible” (de Botton 169). I think this chapter is less informative than the others although it still provides an interesting view on the world of entrepreneurship.

In the chapter Aviation, the author tells about his visit to the biannual event at Le Bourget airport in Paris. He depicts his impressions about the aviation, its innovations and characterizes it as the workplace.

“Because the fair was, at least in its first couple of days, tightly restricted to aerospace professionals and the press, it had an atmosphere of calm and easy conviviality, of the kind one might find between guests at a wedding” (de Botton 178).

In my opinion, the author tries to emphasize the multiethnicity of the industry. He gives interesting information about the new technologies in aviation which are aimed at improving the quality of flights. I found the author’s focus on the innovations in the industry somewhat confusing taking into account the purpose and main idea of his book to describe the ‘pleasures and sorrows’ of work. However, it seems that he rather describes the ‘pleasures and sorrows’ of the passengers and not of the people employed in the industry.

Works Cited

de Botton, Alan. The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, New York: Vintage Books, 2009. Print.