de Botton's treatment of ten occupational sectors ranging from factory floor to rocket science is a poingant, thought-provoking, often funny and sometimes downright depressing glimpse into the lives of working people, what they do, how they see themselves, and most importantly, offering a way for readers to see them too. At times hopeful and at others cynical, the author observes the work of many during the course of a routine day at the symbolic or actual office, examining both the work being done and those doing it. He artfully describes in poetic detail the nuances of daily life at work, capturing snap-shot after snap-shot of moments in time and labor, which permits the reader to pause and wonder about what may seem to be trivial: who ARE the people involved in the products and services we in the modern world must have?Just when one thinks he has gone over the top with what sounds like a jaded view, he enters a softer, more philosophical place in which he asks himself AND us: do we really even notice those who work so hard, earn so little, work late hours, or in the case of rocket science, really even understand? As I read, I thought to myself, "I've learned a lot about what rocket science isn't...but I never really stopped to consider what it IS."His writing style and skillful weaving in and out of the working world and the lives of others is compelling. Just how many hands have played a role in a fish one buys at market? How many of us turn our lights on and off all day and night without ever thinking even once about the men and women who make that magical thing called electricity possible with a simple flip of a switch? Who are the ones who make certain the cookies I buy are neatly arranged in a perfect package at the grocery store--and who are the ones that got it there?As an artist, I paricularly appreciated that he included a chapter about a painter whose career mostly centered around painting the same grand tree in any number of conditions from seasonal to weather variations, in morning light, late light, and high noon. I could not help but wonder about the richness of such a collection of paintings--a single tree with a thousand-thousand faces (not unlike a single person with a thousand-thousand faces).I recommend you not read the book in a hurry. Go slowly, Savor it. Ponder it. Turn in over in your mind and heart. Wonder why YOU do what you do, day in and day out, ask if your work brings you joy. If you don't like the answer, perhaps this book will give you the courage to go on and find something more in tune with your soul's purpose in this short life.Reminds me of Mary Oliver's line: "What will you do with your one wild and precious life?"