COMPLAINT

"Oh, wouldn''t the world be dull and flat with nothing whatever to grumble at?"-W.S. Gilbert"This book could change the way we live . . . a relaxed, affable, yet startlingly lucid analysis of humanity''s tendency to complain. It should be compulsory reading."-The Independent"An enjoyably astringent and wry read."-GuardianWe love to complain, as letters pages, phone-ins, and blogs demonstrate. But there has been no book on the subject-until now.Conversation would be extremely limited if we stopped complaining. But where once we complained about things that really mattered, now we groan about late trains and bad TV. Often our complaints are misguided: we think political parties should bicker less, but we also complain that there''s nothing to choose between them.Ranging from God''s protests toward Adam and Eve to the French and American revolutions and the reaction to the war in Iraq, this book examines why we complain, the different kinds of complaints we make, why men and women complain about different things, and why the British complain less than Americans.Julian Baggini is a British philosopher. His previous books include What''s it all About?, The Duck That Won the Lottery, The Pig that Wants to be Eaten, and Welcome to Everytown. He is co-founder and editor of The Philosopher''s Magazine.