Pascal Bruckner, Medici and Renaudot Prize laureate, is known to the Russian reader as novelist (“Godlike child”, “Thieves of beauty”, etc.). Also Bruckner is one of the most prominent philosophers in modern France. He continues the tradition of French classical essay writing style so loved by Russians.
Each his essay touches the issues describing modern civilization. The theme of the book published is the development and distortion of the eager to be happy, peculiar to European culture since XVIII century. Bruckner observes as the Christian system of values was replaced by secular hedonistic one in the Age of Enlightenment, as the end of XX century is coming the cult of happiness, health and success becomes stronger, governing the modern world tyrannically.