Alain de Botton
Alain de Botton, FRSL (; born 20 December 1969) is a Swiss-born British philosopher and author. His books discuss various contemporary subjects and themes, emphasizing philosophy's relevance to everyday life. He published "Essays in Love" (1993), which went on to sell two million copies. Other bestsellers include "How Proust Can Change Your Life" (1997), "Status Anxiety" (2004) and "The Architecture of Happiness" (2006).
De puinhopen van acht jaar Paars
The book went on to become one of the biggest commercial hits of the Dutch book trade in 2002, selling over 150,000 copies in the year of its release alone. That year "De puinhopen van acht jaar paars" was the best-selling non-fiction book in the Netherlands, the third overall best-selling book (after Nicci French's "Land of the Living" and Donna Tartt's "The Little Friend"), and the best-selling book by a Dutch author.