John, 46, meets Elsa, 86, and together they go for a hilarious trip to help their friend who has just returned from West Papua. The collision of their very different life experiences results in a strange dialogue in which John discovers new perspectives and solutions to life's big questions. On their rescue mission, their friendship matures through a number of unexpected trials.
"Money and the Art of Losing Control" is for those of you who are interested in how to make and spend money with a clear conscience and who would like to understand more about economics than you can learn at a university in Chicago. It is also for those of you who would like to know how religion, thermodynamics, humour, sex and philosophy can be combined into a simple working formula for a really good life.
For a philosophy of a complete life to prevail, it has to admit humanity.
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The Swedish Road to the MOQ
If you enjoy the films of Ingmar Bergman and the books of Robert Pirsig, you'll enjoy this book. It's often forgotten that much of Pirsig's second book, "Lila. An Inquiry into Morals" was written in a wood cabin on the Swedish coast. "Money and the Art of Losing Control" expands on the rather bleak atmosphere of the former to the knife edge of credibility. In a country that is cold and dark for much of the year, it should come of no surprise that the Swedish approach to life has developed an underlying black humour with a touch of stoicism and the rather uninhibited Scandinavian view (at least for my reserved English eyes) of human sexuality. You will not have to read too far in Mr Andersson's book to find all of these elements; often in combination.
Keeping in mind the caveat at the beginning of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" about it not being much concerned with motorcycle maintenance or Zen, you will be disappointed if you are looking to "Money and the Art of Losing Control" as a precise guide for making money. However, in the same way that Pirsig's book is a "meta-book" about motorcycle maintenance (in the sense of finding the best attitude of mind before engaging in this type of endeavour), you will likewise find Mr Andersson's book helpful in developing the right attitude for money making... Oh, and on the way (as we travel through the snowy Swedish forests with the happy couple of John and Elsa), it is also worth noting that included in the narrative are some useful insights about the good life as viewed through the prism of Robert Pirsig's "Metaphysics of Quality."
Dr Anthony McWatt
May 2012