We live in the age of speed. We strain to be more efficient, to cram more into each minute, each hour, each day. Since the Industrial Revolution shifted the world into high gear, the cult of speed has pushed us to a breaking point. Consider these facts: Americans on average spend seventy-two minutes of every day behind the wheel of a car, a typical business executive now loses sixty-eight hours a year to being put on hold, and American adults currently devote on average a mere half hour per week to making love.

Living on the edge of exhaustion, we are constantly reminded by our bodies and minds that the pace of life is spinning out of control. In Praise of Slowness traces the history of our increasingly breathless relationship with time and tackles the consequences of living in this accelerated culture of our own creation. Why are we always in such a rush? What is the cure for time sickness? Is it possible, or even desirable, to slow down? Realizing the price we pay for unrelenting speed, people all over the world are reclaiming their time and slowing down the pace -- and living happier, healthier, and more productive lives as a result. A Slow revolution is taking place.

Here you will find no Luddite calls to overthrow technology and seek a preindustrial utopia. This is a modern revolution, championed by cell-phone using, e-mailing lovers of sanity. The Slow philosophy can be summed up in a single word -- balance. People are discovering energy and efficiency where they may have been least expected -- in slowing down.

In this engaging and entertaining exploration, award-winning journalist and rehabilitated speedaholic Carl Honore details our perennial love affair with efficiency and speed in a perfect blend of anecdotal reportage, history, and intellectual inquiry. In Praise of Slowness is the first comprehensive look at the worldwide Slow movements making their way into the mainstream -- in offices, factories, neighborhoods, kitchens, hospitals, concert halls, bedrooms, gyms, and schools. Defining a movement that is here to stay, this spirited manifesto will make you completely rethink your relationship with time.

Take time to connect with the world as you embark on 40 slow adventures. Each of these journeys are on foot, bike, boat or train, allowing you to take in the history, absorb the landscape and meet extraordinary people along the way. Whether you roam the 'Rose City' of Petra, feel the magic of the Great Stones Way or sail back in time on the River Nile, these journeys, illustrated step-by-step through each location and accompanied by texts from bestselling author 'Godfather of the Slow Movement' Carl Honore provide young readers with a feast for the senses and food for the soul.

DON'T HURRY, BE HAPPY.;Almost everyone complains about the hectic pace of their lives. These days, our culture teaches that faster is better. But in the race to keep up, everything suffers - our work, diet and health, our relationships and sex lives.;Carl Honore uncovers a movement that challenges the cult of speed. In this entertaining and hands-on investigation, he takes us on a tour of the emerging Slow movement: from a Tantric sex workshop in London to a meditation room for Tokyo executives, from a SuperSlow exercise studio in New York, to Italy, home of the Slow Food, Slow Cities and Slow Sex movements.

* BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK * 'A joyously life-enhancing book [that] shatters the myths about ageing' Daily Mail Carl Honore captured the zeitgeist with his international sensation, In Praise of Slow. In Bolder, he introduces us to another rising movement: a revolution in our approach to ageing. Ageing is inevitable. In this time of longer lifespans, however, we have the potential to age better than ever before. Having travelled the globe to meet the pioneers who are redefining ageing, Carl Honore explores the cultural, medical and technological trends that will help us make the most of our longer lives. He shows us that the time has come to cast off prejudices and blur the lines of what is possible at every age. We can tear up the old script that locks us into learning in early life, working in the middle years and pursuing leisure with whatever time is left at the end. Instead, we can learn, work, rest, care for others, volunteer, create and have fun all the way through our lives. Bolder is a radical re-think of our approach to everything from education, healthcare and work, to design, relationships and politics. An essential and inspiring read to help all of us make ageing a bonus rather than a burden.

The Discovery of Slowness--a huge commercial and critical success across Europe, where it is considered the popular author's master piece--recounts the life of the nineteenth-century British explorer Sir John Franklin (1786-1847).Through the author's acute reading of history and his marvelous storytelling prowess, the reader follows John Franklin's development from awkward schoolboy and ridiculed teenager to expedition leader, governor of Tasmania, and icon of adventure. Slow and deliberate from boyhood, Franklin appeared destined to be a misfit. But he escaped from the ever-expanding world of industry and Empire to the sea's silent landscape, where the universe seemed more manageable. At age fourteen he joined the navy. After surviving the harrowing battles of Copenhagen and Trafalgar, he embarked on several voyages of discovery into the Canadian North, and served as governor of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania). Everyone with whom he came into contact sensed that Franklin was a rare man, one who was "out of his time" and who moved to a different, grander beat. That beat eventually led Franklin to sail once more-on his final, fateful voyage-into the Arctic in search of the Northwest Passage.The Discovery of Slowness is a riveting account of a remarkable and varied life. And it is also a profound and thought-provoking meditation on time. The result is an unforgettable and deeply moving reading experience that justifies the novel's reputation as one of the classics of contemporary world literature.

A practical, step-by-step guide to eliminate the rushing, distraction and busyness in your life. Become calmer, healthier, happier, more focused, more efficient, more productive, more creative, more present. Slow down to unleash a better you at work, home and beyond. This book is a perfect companion to the global bestseller In Praise of Slow (In Praise of Slowness in the USA). Carl Honoré is the voice of the Slow Movement and the world's leading expert on slowing down in a fast world. While researching In Praise of Slow, he got slapped with a speeding ticket!

'Engagingly written and filled with interesting detail' SUNDAY TIMES A revealing portrait of how families are struggling to cope with the changing world of parenting and childhood, plus new solutions The parent screaming from the touchline at an eight-year-old to make an overlapping run; the pregnant mother playing Mozart to her unborn baby; the rigid schedule for babies, which develops into an agenda of activities for a young child - all these are familiar instances of hyper-parenting. With the pressure growing all the time for children to get into the best schools and universities, or to develop their nascent talents and become the next Tiger Woods or Williams sister, it has never been more difficult to be a child. In Carl Honore's brilliant follow-up to IN PRAISE OF SLOW he makes an impassioned call for parents and teachers to allow children to grow up at a slower rate. He takes us on a journey round the world in search of a new formula for parenting and childhood. He talks to a range of experts and sifts through the latest research to find what problems parents, teachers and children face, and to seek out the best solutions. Honore shows how 'slow parenting' will benefit both the child and the parents, and ensure that we create happier children and calmer parents.

"Why do grown-ups have to take over everything?" This innocent question from acclaimed journalist and international bestselling author Carl Honore's son sparked a two-year investigation into how our culture of speed, efficiency, and success at all costs is damaging both parents and children. When the impulse to give children the best of everything runs rampant, parents, schools, communities, and corporations unwittingly combine forces to create over-scheduled, over-stimulated, and overindulged kids. The mere mention of potty-training, ballet classes, preschool, ADD, or overeating is enough to spark a heated debate about the right way to raise our children. The problem is that despite the best intentions of all involved, the pressure to manage every detail of our children's lives from in utero through college is overwhelming.

Delivering much more than a wake-up call, international bestselling author Carl Honore interviews experts in Europe, North America, and the Far East, talks to families around the world and sifts through the latest scientific research. Not only do we see the real dangers of micromanaging children, but Honore also shows us an emerging new movement inspiring many to slow down and find the natural balance between too little and too much. Blending the finest reportage, intellectual inquiry, and extraordinary true stories, Under Pressure is the first book to challenge the status quo by mapping out an alternative to the culture of hyperparenting that is presently pushing children and their parents to the brink.