Temptation: Finding Self-Control in an Age of Excess

" This elegantly written and useful book . . . describes how, for millennia, human beings have struggled to rein in desire." -USA Today

At a time when the fallout from reckless spending and unrestrained consumption is fueling a national malaise, Daniel Akst delivers a witty and comprehensive investigation of the central problem of our time: how to save ourselves from what we want. Temptation reminds us that while more calories, sex, and intoxicants are readily available than ever before, crucial social constraints have eroded, creating a world that sorely tests the limits of human willpower. Referencing history, literature, psychology, philosophy, and economics, Akst draws a vivid picture of the many-sided problem of desire-and delivers a blueprint for how we can steer shrewdly away from a campaign of self-destruction.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 12/27/2011
ISBN: 9780143120803
Pages: 320
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 8.37h x 5.56w x 0.70d