The Optimist: One Man's Search for the Brighter Side of Life

The Optimist: One Man's Search for the Brighter Side of Life

by Laurence Shorter (Author)

Synopsis

Collapsing stock markets, melting ice caps, floods, tornadoes, terrorism . . .When it comes to bad news, we've never had it so good. Perhaps it is time to be a little more optimistic? That's what Laurence Shorter decided. And that's why he set himself the challenge of meeting the world's most cheerful people. Surely with the help of Desmond Tutu, Richard Branson and Bill Clinton, Laurence can find the secret to inner happiness. But first things first - how on Earth is he going to get to meet them?

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 336
Edition: Main
Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
Published: 22 Jan 2009

ISBN 10: 184767061X
ISBN 13: 9781847670618

Media Reviews
A delightfully quirky journey of self-discovery that will make your spirits soar, and possibly lead you to enlightenment. Possibly. * * Mick Brown * *
Shorter is a witty writer . . . The Optimist won't convert confirmed pessimists but it is engaging enough to make you question negative habits - and perhaps restore a little faith in humanity's future. * * Financial Times * *
Shorter is a snappy writer - fast, compelling, sympathetic and seemingly honest. * * Observer * *
Funny and inspiring . . . a book that's a reason to be cheerful in itself. * * Waterstone's Books Quarterly * *
A laugh-out-loud account of a year-long, worldwide search to find positive thinkers. -- Val Nolan * * Sunday Business Post * *
Deliciously quirky and enormously funny, it brims over with the sort of joie de vivre that would brighten the darkest day. * * Good Book Guide * *
Author Bio
Laurence Shorter worked in the business world for a decade before making the move into writing and comedy in 2001. Since then he has done a one-man show at the Edinburgh Festival, written for the BBC, Channel 4, the Independent, Observerand opendemocracy.net, and toured some of the capital's finest pubs as a comedy dancer. With his focus on the world of therapy and spiritual development he is taken seriously by a growing number of cultural commentators, including his father, his father's girlfriend and their brain-damaged cat. Laurence was born in New York and raised in Edinburgh. Today he lives in South London, though he was recently seen trying to escape on a small bicycle.