This classic was first published in 1951 and it seems that our anxiety and our desire to be ever more entertained by ever more stimulating things has not faded quite yet ol’ Alan! I think this was sort of the original “Power of Now” though I do love that too.
This is the first edition hardcover of the 8th printing - you rarely see these. The binding is tight and the pages are crisp, clean, and unmarked. It also does not have one of those super strong old book scents when you open to read it, which is always a plus for a book this old. There’s some tearing to the dust jacket near the binding and on the inside front corner as seen in photographs - now protected in a plastic covering.
Here’s a good excerpt:
“You want to be happy, to forget yourself, and yet the more you try to forget yourself, the more you remember the self you want to forget. You want to escape from pain, but the more you struggle to escape, the more you inflame the agony. You are afraid and want to be brave, but the effort to be brave is fear trying to run away from itself. You want peace of mind, but the attempt to pacify it is like trying to calm the waves with a flat iron.”
This classic was first published in 1951 and it seems that our anxiety and our desire to be ever more entertained by ever more stimulating things has not faded quite yet ol’ Alan! I think this was sort of the original “Power of Now” though I do love that too.
This is the first edition hardcover of the 8th printing - you rarely see these. The binding is tight and the pages are crisp, clean, and unmarked. It also does not have one of those super strong old book scents when you open to read it, which is always a plus for a book this old. There’s some tearing to the dust jacket near the binding and on the inside front corner as seen in photographs - now protected in a plastic covering.
Here’s a good excerpt:
“You want to be happy, to forget yourself, and yet the more you try to forget yourself, the more you remember the self you want to forget. You want to escape from pain, but the more you struggle to escape, the more you inflame the agony. You are afraid and want to be brave, but the effort to be brave is fear trying to run away from itself. You want peace of mind, but the attempt to pacify it is like trying to calm the waves with a flat iron.”
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