About Distraction
Most of us struggle with distraction every day: the familiar feeling that our attention is not quite where it should be.
But what is distraction?
In his lucid, timely book, Damon Young shows that distraction is more than too many stimuli, or too little attention. It is
actually a matter of value – to be distracted is to be torn away from what is worthwhile in life. And for Young, what is
most worthwhile is freedom: not simply rights or legal liberties, but the capacity to patiently, creatively craft one’s own life.
Exploring the lives of such luminaries as Henri Matisse, Karl Marx, Seneca and Henry James, Young exposes distraction in
work, technology, art, politics and intimacy. With warmth and wit, he reveals what is most valuable, and what is best avoided,
in the pursuit of a life of one’s own.
Click here to read about distraction on the BBC news. Click here to read an extract in Australia's Age newspaper.
Distraction is available at all good bookshops, or online at Readings (Australia), Waterstones (UK), Amazon (UK) and Amazon (US).
Praise for Distraction
"Best Books 2008" - Australian Financial Review, BOSS
"Highly Recommended" - 2008/9 Summer Reading Guide
"In his lucid and optimistic book, Damon Young encourages us to tame the distractions that are pointless, and nurture those
that are good." - Financial Times (UK)
"This author makes 'dancing' with the philosophic and artistic masters...enjoyable even though one may be tone-deaf to the
music and not know the steps." - Bookseller + Publisher magazine
"Young communicates ideas with enthusiasm and a genuine emotional connection to his subjects, their triumphs and frailties.
He is a talent." - The Australian
"Damon Young's Distraction...takes up the perennial theme of individual liberty and does something with it very much along the
lines of Alain de Botton or John Armstrong." - The Age
"His voice is an amiable presence, the writing is lively and sometimes very fine." - The Australian Literary Review
"He is a punchy writer, with a gift for turning complex ideas into readable, entertaining stories." - Canberra Times
"This warm and witty book does something wonderful: it brings the great ideas of philosophy into our lives. Young is a
bright new voice." - John Armstrong, author of The Secret Power of Beauty and Civilization
"I hope there are more books of philosophy like this one in the coming years. I am almost tempted to think that philosophy
could be culturally relevant again, if more philosophers were to follow Young's example....Take up and read." - Brad Frazier,
author of Rorty and Kierkegaard on Irony and Moral Commitment
"Distraction...is the best kind of popular philosophy - popular...in the real sense of the word, owing to its overriding,
passionate concern with the business of living well, right now...in this world in front of our eyes."
- Maria Tumarkin, author of Traumascapes and Courage
"Distraction is Melbourne University philosopher Damon Young's playful, witty and down-to-earth guide to seizing the day."
- Rachel Power, author of The Divided Heart: Art and Motherhood
Cricitism of Distraction
"Plato turned to philosophy in a quest for transcendence, which Young takes as a rejection of life and its humdrum intrusions.
I don't think this is right, because the everyday experiences of life...were the very stuff of Plato's Philosophy." - Financial Times (UK)
"I am sure that Young, broadly speaking, is right to cavil against the age of the distraction. Yet he failed to convince this
committed techno-sceptic. And without a convincing diagnosis of the illness, the therapy carries little weight." - The Australian
"The overall cast of Distraction isn't equal to the grand idea of the book. Flattening writers' lives into a digestible series
of underpsychologised set pieces isn't enough to make a compelling case about liberty in our times." - The Age
"He is not careful of distinctions and his indifference to conceptual clarification vitiates much of the book." - The Australian Literary Review
"Had he trusted his own insights rather than relying on those of others, Young might have ventured a bolder thesis." - Canberra Times
Most of us struggle with distraction every day: the familiar feeling that our attention is not quite where it should be.
But what is distraction?
In his lucid, timely book, Damon Young shows that distraction is more than too many stimuli, or too little attention. It is
actually a matter of value – to be distracted is to be torn away from what is worthwhile in life. And for Young, what is
most worthwhile is freedom: not simply rights or legal liberties, but the capacity to patiently, creatively craft one’s own life.
Exploring the lives of such luminaries as Henri Matisse, Karl Marx, Seneca and Henry James, Young exposes distraction in
work, technology, art, politics and intimacy. With warmth and wit, he reveals what is most valuable, and what is best avoided,
in the pursuit of a life of one’s own.
Click here to read about distraction on the BBC news. Click here to read an extract in Australia's Age newspaper.
Distraction is available at all good bookshops, or online at Readings (Australia), Waterstones (UK), Amazon (UK) and Amazon (US).
Praise for Distraction
"Best Books 2008" - Australian Financial Review, BOSS
"Highly Recommended" - 2008/9 Summer Reading Guide
"In his lucid and optimistic book, Damon Young encourages us to tame the distractions that are pointless, and nurture those
that are good." - Financial Times (UK)
"This author makes 'dancing' with the philosophic and artistic masters...enjoyable even though one may be tone-deaf to the
music and not know the steps." - Bookseller + Publisher magazine
"Young communicates ideas with enthusiasm and a genuine emotional connection to his subjects, their triumphs and frailties.
He is a talent." - The Australian
"Damon Young's Distraction...takes up the perennial theme of individual liberty and does something with it very much along the
lines of Alain de Botton or John Armstrong." - The Age
"His voice is an amiable presence, the writing is lively and sometimes very fine." - The Australian Literary Review
"He is a punchy writer, with a gift for turning complex ideas into readable, entertaining stories." - Canberra Times
"This warm and witty book does something wonderful: it brings the great ideas of philosophy into our lives. Young is a
bright new voice." - John Armstrong, author of The Secret Power of Beauty and Civilization
"I hope there are more books of philosophy like this one in the coming years. I am almost tempted to think that philosophy
could be culturally relevant again, if more philosophers were to follow Young's example....Take up and read." - Brad Frazier,
author of Rorty and Kierkegaard on Irony and Moral Commitment
"Distraction...is the best kind of popular philosophy - popular...in the real sense of the word, owing to its overriding,
passionate concern with the business of living well, right now...in this world in front of our eyes."
- Maria Tumarkin, author of Traumascapes and Courage
"Distraction is Melbourne University philosopher Damon Young's playful, witty and down-to-earth guide to seizing the day."
- Rachel Power, author of The Divided Heart: Art and Motherhood
Cricitism of Distraction
"Plato turned to philosophy in a quest for transcendence, which Young takes as a rejection of life and its humdrum intrusions.
I don't think this is right, because the everyday experiences of life...were the very stuff of Plato's Philosophy." - Financial Times (UK)
"I am sure that Young, broadly speaking, is right to cavil against the age of the distraction. Yet he failed to convince this
committed techno-sceptic. And without a convincing diagnosis of the illness, the therapy carries little weight." - The Australian
"The overall cast of Distraction isn't equal to the grand idea of the book. Flattening writers' lives into a digestible series
of underpsychologised set pieces isn't enough to make a compelling case about liberty in our times." - The Age
"He is not careful of distinctions and his indifference to conceptual clarification vitiates much of the book." - The Australian Literary Review
"Had he trusted his own insights rather than relying on those of others, Young might have ventured a bolder thesis." - Canberra Times