Momo (Puffin Books)

Perhaps it is entirely appropriate that a book about the virtues of wasting time and the risks of being constantly driven and goal oriented has a meandering feel to it. Loading the book with digressions, asides, and tall tales, the author takes his time as he sidles up to his main themes. And that's all to the good, because the dreamy, fantastical and yet eminently practical guidance offered here is suited to a slow, playful and whimsical approach.

We start with an introduction to Momo, her friends, and her peculiar ability to "listen well". We meet her two best friends, a teller of tall tales and a slow, thoughtful philosopher/streetsweeper. Once we have Momo comfortably situated in her village, the "grey men" arrive. They steal the time they need to survive from others, leaving those others worn out, distracted, and exhausted by their hectic and empty lives. Momo, with two new companions, must defeat the grey men and return the people's time to them. Understand that "time" in this context generally means leisure time or "unproductive" time devoted to socializing, playing, relaxing, day dreaming and the like. We learn that without this sort of time, then producing, achieving and consuming are meaningless.

On one level this is a time travel adventure book, but that's like saying "The Wizard of Oz" is a travelogue. The time travel and the adventure mostly serve to allow our heroine, Momo, to meet people and to discuss things. Momo is in the classic style of the "wise child", and there is much in the bones of this book that reminds one of the gentle humor and pointed commentary of books like "The Little Prince" or "The Phantom Tollbooth". And make no mistake, this book is a pretty pointed, obvious, and rather sharp indictment of the hectic lives of acquisition and excess we now live.

While Momo and her friends and companions are interesting, it is the writing, (and especially the dialogue), that I found particularly engaging. Ende has a way of heading straight toward "sappy" and then pulling back or veering to deliver a fresh, or even startling, unexpected line. The upshot is that this is more than a clever fairy tale and more than an "indictment" of modern, (circa 1973), life. It is a kid friendly, adult friendly, cautionary tale couched in fairy tale conventions, but with real style and grace and humor. This is pretty elegant stuff.

A BIT OF HOUSEKEEPING. This book suffers very much from the store's lack of care in identifying different editions, publishers, and even languages. This book was originally published in German in 1973. An English version was published in 1974. A new English translation was published in 1984. Many and various other editions, in various languages, have been published over the years since. The version I read was published by McSweeney's in hardback in 2013 as a 40th anniversary edition and is being released by them in paperback in 2016. It has a new translation by Lucas Zwirner. The cover has clock faces for the two "o's" in Momo and shows a little girl in a blue coat holding a turtle, while grey men pass behind her. I read and reviewed the McSweeney's edition. Be careful if you order from third party sellers; you might end up with any version in any language. (Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Perhaps it is entirely appropriate that a book about the virtues of wasting time and the risks of being constantly driven and goal oriented has a meandering feel to it. Loading the book with digressions, asides, and tall tales, the author takes his time as he sidles up to his main themes. And that's all to the good, because the dreamy, fantastical and yet eminently practical guidance offered here is suited to a slow, playful and whimsical approach.

We start with an introduction to Momo, her friends, and her peculiar ability to "listen well". We meet her two best friends, a teller of tall tales and a slow, thoughtful philosopher/streetsweeper. Once we have Momo comfortably situated in her village, the "grey men" arrive. They steal the time they need to survive from others, leaving those others worn out, distracted, and exhausted by their hectic and empty lives. Momo, with two new companions, must defeat the grey men and return the people's time to them. Understand that "time" in this context generally means leisure time or "unproductive" time devoted to socializing, playing, relaxing, day dreaming and the like. We learn that without this sort of time, then producing, achieving and consuming are meaningless.

On one level this is a time travel adventure book, but that's like saying "The Wizard of Oz" is a travelogue. The time travel and the adventure mostly serve to allow our heroine, Momo, to meet people and to discuss things. Momo is in the classic style of the "wise child", and there is much in the bones of this book that reminds one of the gentle humor and pointed commentary of books like "The Little Prince" or "The Phantom Tollbooth". And make no mistake, this book is a pretty pointed, obvious, and rather sharp indictment of the hectic lives of acquisition and excess we now live.

While Momo and her friends and companions are interesting, it is the writing, (and especially the dialogue), that I found particularly engaging. Ende has a way of heading straight toward "sappy" and then pulling back or veering to deliver a fresh, or even startling, unexpected line. The upshot is that this is more than a clever fairy tale and more than an "indictment" of modern, (circa 1973), life. It is a kid friendly, adult friendly, cautionary tale couched in fairy tale conventions, but with real style and grace and humor. This is pretty elegant stuff.

A BIT OF HOUSEKEEPING. This book suffers very much from the store's lack of care in identifying different editions, publishers, and even languages. This book was originally published in German in 1973. An English version was published in 1974. A new English translation was published in 1984. Many and various other editions, in various languages, have been published over the years since. The version I read was published by McSweeney's in hardback in 2013 as a 40th anniversary edition and is being released by them in paperback in 2016. It has a new translation by Lucas Zwirner. The cover has clock faces for the two "o's" in Momo and shows a little girl in a blue coat holding a turtle, while grey men pass behind her. I read and reviewed the McSweeney's edition. Be careful if you order from third party sellers; you might end up with any version in any language. (Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

I'll admit to only being familiar with Michael Ende through the movie version of The Neverending Story. I'd watch it when it came on network television, but I never read the book. Now that that confession is out of the way . . . MOMO made me wish I'd found Ende's books as a child. I'm not saying that I didn't thoroughly enjoy MOMO as an adult, but I would've liked to grow up with this book sitting on my shelf, likely sandwiched between Dahl and L'Engle. I might not have read MOMO in my childhood, but it felt like it accidentally fell out of there into my adult life.

The illustrations by Marcel Dzama furthered that impression. Something about the lines of his work makes me think of Jules Feiffer and his illustrations for THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH. They fit with the story seamlessly, stylish but not too modern.

MOMO is the tale of a young orphan with one great power: she listens. She really listens, and enriches the life of her entire village. But then the gray men come and start to steal time from the villagers, making them harried and hurried and completely without time to stop and talk to someone. Honestly, MOMO did not feel like it was written forty years ago. It's horror at occupying children with gadgets to keep them quiet instead of engaging their imaginations feels extremely contemporary. As for the themes of listening and story, well, those never go out of style, do they?

I can't say anything truly critical about Lucas Zwirner's translation. I haven't read MOMO in the German, or even in another English translation. However, it's not a conspicuous translation. I didn't notice any jarringly modern turns of phrase, nor did the prose feel leaden and lifeless. The tone was very classic children's adventure novel.

I highly recommend MOMO, particularly to those who have a child in their life who could use the gift of a good book. It's a story that reminds us to slow down, to engage with our world and the other people in it. Earning money is not the end all, be all of life. It's a familiar moral, but it's told with such wonderful trappings. A little girl, standing alone against faceless hordes. A turtle that can see the future, a boy whose brain isn't as big as his mouth, a faithful old man, a world in peril. I'm already planning to re-read it come winter, when I'm snuggled up and cozy.

This book feels like reading a Studio Ghibli film. There's an epic feeling and a beautifully rendered world, but there's hardly anything at stake, and lots of tangential scenes which don't serve the narrative.

If this book is supposed to be Ende's best work, I'm not sure why. This may be similar to the preference some people have for The Hobbit over Lord of the Rings. To me, this story felt simple and low key, and doesn't rise above its intended middle grade audience. In contrast, the Neverending Story has interesting depths and implications.

Like The Neverending Story, there was a movie adaption of Momo. However, unlike The Neverending Story, it is not in English (there's an audio book too, but that is also not in English). Thankfully I was able to obtain a full version of the movie that had subtitles created by a fan-otherwise I'd have been lost. Even though the quality of the production isn't bad, I just didn't get the same feeling from the movie that I did from the book. For one thing the character of Momo was all wrong; they used some popular, cutesy looking girl who's hair and personality were totally different. Still, it was interesting to see Ende, who played a small part, and they did a great job with the other characters, particularly the Men in Grey (or, The Grey Gentlemen).

Story overview:
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A little girl, age unknown, lives in an abandoned amphitheatre just outside an unnamed Italian city. The neighborhood learns about her and, rather than send her off to be dealt with by the law-or the orphanage she escaped from-they all end up doing their part to take care of her. She, on the other hand, ends up doing more for the town than they do for her. You see, there's something very special about Momo. She has the remarkable ability to listen to people, really listen, in a way that offers the utmost therapeutic relief. In addition, she has a wonderful imagination and comes up with all sorts of creative and fun games for the neighborhood children to play. When not playing, she often spends time with two of her closest friends: Beppo, a street-cleaner, and Guido, a poetic tour guide.

One day a man in grey shows up and convinces a store owner that he can save money by storing time in a savings bank. The logic seems sound, and many people buy into the scheme. Eventually the town becomes full of these "Gray Men" and the people find that they no longer have time for one another. Not only that, but they become miserable. Momo works her magic to bring the people back, but the Men in Grey see her as a threat and so they seek for a way to shut her up.

Momo escapes, with the help of a turtle, Cassiopeia (who can see several minutes into the future). After several close encounters with the Men in Grey, Cassiopeia leads Momo to the home of a Time Professor named Secundus Minutus Hora. But it's only a matter of time before the Men in Grey find a way to break through Hora's defenses, and Momo finds herself traveling to the future only to discover that the Men in Grey now rule her town and have darkened the hearts of everyone she loves. It's all up to one little girl to find a way to destroy the Men in Grey and give back the lost time to all her friends.

My thoughts:
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I absolutely love this story, and have read it at least three times. Each time I get a great reminder of the need to focus on the important things in life. The translation is good and the characters are beyond brilliant. You cannot go away from this book without feeling a strong sense of the importance of life.

Things to consider:
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Good for both girls and boys, this book is probably best read at around the age of eight (as Ende said, children ages 8-80). There is nothing questionable about it that I can see. The only thing is that some elements might be a little too scary for younger children.

James D. Maxon
Author of Traphis: A Wizard's Tale

Come along with Momo, her dear friends Beppo and Guido, the enigmatic Professor Hora, and his wise turtle companion Cassiopeia, as they join forces to face a menace that's difficult to see and even more difficult to stop.

One of the book's central themes is time. Or rather how we choose to spend the time we have. The character Momo is a humble orphan girl who has a rare talent for patience and listening, and the townsfolk soon learn that if they take the time to share their problems with her, they gain new insight as a result of her attentiveness. In contrast, her adversaries (and really, everyone's adversaries) are the men in gray who steal and thrive on the misspent time of daily living. If you find yourself too hurried to stop and smell the flowers, that's a sign these monochrome miscreants are at work.

This was my first look at the writing of the late German author Michael Ende, and now I intend to follow up with more of his books. Next up, The Neverending Story.

Recommended to me by one of the smartest people I know, who has a great love for most of the things I love. How could I resist?

Why? Why isn't this required reading in schools all over the damn place? Why haven't I heard of this? Why hasn't it been made into a movie like NES? WHY?????

::ahem::

This book is WONDERFUL! And for the first time since I started keeping my nose in a book 14 hours a day (a girl's gotta sleep), people asked what I was reading, and I had so much fun telling them about the book and how they needed to read it.

It's so sweet, and just smart. Extremely clever, with lovely visuals that did NOT leave me skimming as some OTHER books of late have done. Just wonderful. Everyone needs to read this.

This book is really something else. It has enough fantasy to keep a kid engaged in it but its also reflexive enough to make an adult think about the main subject on the book: Time.

The main character, a little homeless girl called Momo, is the antithesis of the super-hero: she has no super powers, she's poor and she seems to be very naive. As the book progresses, her powers become evident: she's a great friend, a better listener and a catalyst of imagination.

The antagonists are ruthless ethereal gray-men devoted to steal time from mankind - they are intimidating and devoted to their labor.

The whole book is a fantastic metaphor of the value of time and what we do with it - What will you do with more free time? Who would you spend it with? Is it really that important to amass a fortune? Is solidarity worthwhile?

I would recommend this book to all the workaholics out there. Because, even if I don't agree 100% with the author point of view, the book may help people realize that there's more to live than work and richness - friendship, self sacrifice and solidarity, are properly depicted as values that will help us improve our lives.

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Este libro es algo diferente. Tiene la fantasía suficiente para mantener a un niño involucrado en él, pero también es suficientemente reflexivo para que un adulto piense en el tema principal del libro: el tiempo.

El personaje principal, una niña pobre llamada Momo, es la antítesis de la super-héroe: no tiene súper poderes, es pobre y parece ser muy ingenua. A medida que el libro avanza, sus poderes se hacen evidentes: es una gran amiga, una mejor oyente y funciona como catalizador de la imaginación.

Los antagonistas son los despiadados hombres grises: etéreos, dedicados a robar tiempo de la humanidad - son intimidantes y muy dedicados a su trabajo.

Todo el libro es una metáfora fantástica de el valor del tiempo y lo que hacemos con el - ¿Qué harías con más tiempo libre? ¿Con quién lo pasarías? ¿Es realmente tan importante amasar una fortuna? ¿Vale la pena ser solidario?

Yo recomendaría este libro a todos los adictos al trabajo. Porque, aunque no estoy de acuerdo al 100% con el punto de vista del autor, el libro puede ayudar a la gente a darse cuenta de que hay más por que vivir que el trabajo y la riqueza - la amistad, el sacrificio por los demás y la solidaridad, están bien representados como los valores que nos ayudarán a mejorar nuestras vidas.

(Young adult fiction) In Momo, Ende tells the story of a young girl (Momo) who wanders into a neighborhood and lives alone but is supported by the local residents. She repays them with her wonderful powers of listening which inspire arguers to resolve their fights, storytellers to tell wondrous stories, and children to play exciting games. Soon, though, a group of strange men begin to steal people's time, causing them to work constantly, feverishly, and mirthlessly. Momo must save the day.

My wife and I began reading this aloud and stopped because of the slow exposition. But as I continued on my own, the pace picked up, and I was treated to an adventure into the origins of time and back again.

The book has several strengths. Ende draws his characters with wonderful detail: Momo and her friends are drawn with painstaking detail (sometimes too much, maybe, but ultimately with benefit). The moral of the tale, that time enjoyed is not time wasted, is a valuable if simple reminder to all of us in our rushed world. A secondary theme, established early in the book, points to the powerful value of listening to others, another valuable reminder. (As an aside, my favorite book on that theme is Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie.) As Momo journeys to the origin of time, Ende employs evocative imagery to help us visualize a physical manifestation of time.

I look forward to recommending this title to my children and to other young readers.

There are many conspiracy theories as to why Momo has not been reissued in the US ranging from the political to the bureaucratic. Surely one would think a book by the author of the Neverending Story should demand a readership of wide audience and the interest of marketing ploys; surely a book that has been steadily read across the globe ought to receive better treatment; surely a book that has as its theme "the virtue of listening" should be read. And I should also note that several college seminars use the book in the US but they have it imported en masse from India or England.
Why? Momo is a tale that veils the concept of "aging money" a currency that would lose purchase power with time without the influence of inflation. Put in simple terms it is an anti-capitalist economic use of currency. The value of capital would become localized and its liquidity serve no purpose in terms of wealth. It is a revolutionary economic idea that demeans its use in favor of other values, such as relationships and community.
Michael Ende received harsh criticism for issuing such revolutionary ideas in a tale that appeals to the young, and it was soon deemed "dangerous". There are theories that claim the US government purchased the rights from Puffin Books to essentially outlaw its publication. Michael Ende has been asked of the rationale for Momo being "unreadable" in the US and has offered the tongue-in-cheek remark of "free speech".
The second theory sees the publishers themselves as directly involved in this type of censorship. To note the fact that there are no books that speak of "aging money" outside of international publication journals, as if it were a taboo topic.
To be fair, we cannot speak of censorship, since, as I previously stated, Universities have been known to go to great lengths to make this book accessible to their students - without penalties or consequences.
I will make it here known that having spoken to several people who have published underground books on such economic reform, there is a prevelant belief this book is intentionally made inaccessible.
Puffin claims there is no market for it. A gross, obviously horrendous claim.
Anyone who has read the book, passes it on as if it were a treasure. There was a German-Italian production of movie of Momo made, which was also bought out from the foreign movie industry. Theories abound, but in essence it is an anti-capitalist book, with the men in grey suits being ostensibly "the corporate world".
These are perhaps just conspiracy theories, but the bottom line here is that in the US there are people trying to keep it from being read.
Any comments on the subject are welcomed.

I really couldn't believe there were so few reviews for this book. Michael Ende is among the most thought-provoking and interesting writers I've ever encountered. Everyone has heard of The Neverending Story, his masterpiece, but his other work is often unknown and neglected. Momo made a lasting impression on me when I first read it, and it's one of those rare books which is worth reading again and again.

The only complaint I have about this work (or any of his other works) is the relatively poor nature of the translations I've seen. The word choices are sometimes wooden and unrealistic, which is a slight annoyance. The fact that this book manages to be both captivating and compelling in spite of that handicap is high praise indeed.

Have you ever think of finding a book that capture you from the first page until the end. Beautiful story like fairy tale with supurb narrative style that you want to re-read it many times. Moreover, the book that contains a wonderful idea about life. If yes, try to read this book. Story of a little girl and her friends seemed to be a simple plot. But it isn't like that when it is in Michale Ende's hands. It's about people, friendship and time. Please read this book to your children and you will enjoy this beautiful story as well. If you still don't believe me, Let go through other's people comment for this book. The best way is to find out by yourself. In Thailand, this book is reprinted so many times and I am so glad that I can own this precious book. Another "Gem" from Michale Ende is "The Never Ending Story" both are equally supurb.. I guarantee.

Maybe the reason that this is the hardest Michael Ende book to find in English is that it really is telling children a lot about the real nature of the society, particularly the wonderful "free market economy" part of it, as well as "productivity" and "gross domestic product" and the rest. It is a dangerous book, it really makes you think about all the benefits of the new global religion of consumerism.

Momo is a masterpiece, no doubt about it. It is a children's book, and I read it as a child, and it made me look differently at the world. It does not take its intended audience (children) for fools and treats them as they deserve (as reasonable, open-minded children, not bigotted, senseless adults). It has great comedic moments (stories of Girolamo) and has wonderfully created villain (the cigarette smoking gray men), as well as cool characters like Caseiopeia. it is a perfect children's novel and will keep you reading and re-reading for years to come.

Momo lives in the ruins of the ancient amphitheater alone. She is in rags and an orphan. Though she could stay there by the residents' help at first, she becomes indispensable to them more and more. That is because they get a solution or confidence while the residents are telling Momo about their stories. However, Momo does not do anything to them. She just listens to them with the utmost attention and sympathy. One day, the gray men suddenly appear in the city. They are people who work for the company called TimeSaving and steal time from the residents. Many residents who were happy are being changed by the gray men little by little into busy people who do not have time to enjoy themselves. After Momo finds out the reason that people are getting busy, Momo starts an adventure with the tortoise and Professor Hora to rescue the residents from the gray men.

This book is for an adult who is pressed for time. This book includes many valuable lessons and suggests a right direction of life to people. I could learn from this book how important listening to other people is, and I also could think about time I have and spend every day. Momo helps people to listen to themselves by talking to her. Even though I have tried to listen to other people, I would find myself telling more about things I wanted to say. This book makes people realize once again about the importance of listening. Like this book says, people live busily to pursue their happiness, but they tend to lose their happiness because of that. Even if people make lots of money, they could lose their important things and get unhappy. This book tells us that we should take care of people who are around us more and try to feel the change of seasons and appreciate our life. How to spend time that we have evenly is up to us. We can make us be pursued by time. In addition, this book is very exciting. The adventure that Momo shows to take back time from the gray men led me into the exciting and fantastic world.

Most people are aware of The Neverending Story, written by the same author, that was turned into a famous movie. But most people are unaware that Momo was also turned into a movie. I have it in the German language, but I'm under the impression it was originally made in English. It is an outstanding book with lessons to learn about our values in modern times, with similar themes to the Neverending Story. In the Neverending Story, part II, a rockbiter's baby eats a lot of rocks, but keeps crying because it feels empty inside. In Momo, the heroine of the book has three lunches but feels empty inside. In the Neverending Story, the childlike emporess has a fatal illness, caused by The Nothing. In Momo, the dispensor of people's time, Professor Hora, is afraid the men in gray will poison the time he allots to people, causing a fatal illness. Quote:" A fatal illness, though you scarcely notice it at first. One day, you don't feel like doing anything. NOTHING interests you, everything bores you. Far from wearing off, your boredom persists and gets worse, day by day and week by week. You feel more and more bad tempered, more and more EMPTY inside, more and more dissatisfied with yourself and the world in general... you bustle around with a blank gray face, just like the men in gray themselves - indeed, you've joined their ranks. The disease has a name. It's called deadly tedium." Another quote: "So the men in gray aren't human? No. Their human appearance is only a disguise. What are they then? Strictly speaking, they're NOTHING. So where do they come from? They exist only because people give them the opportunity to do so."

Momo is an interesting commentary on society, with the aid of some grey gentleman, a tortoise who can communicate in an interesting fashion, a wise elderly man, a roadsweeper, a young storyteller and a little girl who appears from nowhere. I loved all of the characters, especially Momo - You'll want to sweep her up and adopt her! The little comments on daily life and work will make you stop and think. Anyone who is fascinated with the concept of time and/or loves The Neverending Story - READ. THIS. BOOK.

This one was a gem. I admired everything about it: the simple storytelling, a richly created atmosphere, the symbolism, and the darker implications. Momo is truly a wonderful and memorable character, I especially liked the chapter when she plays make-believe with her friends. The things that the men in gray represent are very obvious and this made them all the more frightening. I was a little uneasy about the way the novel sometimes switched between old fashioned fantasy and modern reality, but suppose this was just to drive the implications closer to home. All in all, this was excellent, I highly recommend it.

Originally posted at http://readrunstudy.wordpress.com/

This book has always been a favorite in my family. I enjoyed this book when I read it as a child, and also enjoyed rereading it now as an adult. The characters are likable and the concepts are well done. I easily saw myself in the time savers as I realized how much effort I expend on improving efficiency without feeling like I have gained the time I tried so hard to save. I found this especially haunting given that the book was originally written in the early 70's. Overall, this is a cute story with a great message to children and adults alike - take time to slow down and relax.

-Tanya Read (Read. Run. Study.)

The strength of the tale rests firmly with Momo's character--her innocence, creativity, and honesty in the face of a kind of soul-devouring evil that plagues her city. All in all, Momo is a refreshing story touching on the theme of how we use our minutes, hours, and years. If you have the time, I think you'll enjoy reading Momo.

There are many good books out there worth reading. There are many entertaining books which provide a few hours pleasure. Michael Ende's Momo is certainly in both of these collections, but what is truly wonderful about this book is that it gives a story to the pain and challenge of modern life. As a fable/myth, it gives us a narrative to talk about what ails us -- in this case, the malaise of a hurried-up life deprived of time. Where has all our time gone?
Momo has given me a language of images to talk about this problem in my life and our society . This is its greatest gift.

I read this book by accident on the recommendation of a foreign friend years ago. Back then, there was no way to buy this book in the US even though it is readily available in every other country. Don't know the reason for this but I believe these are Canadian versions of the book. I happened to be in Japan at the time and found it at the local English book shop. I know its a children's novel but it is definitely a book for everyone. The message is great for children of all ages and in fact, probably much more relevant for the 30 somethings of the world (like me). Still amazed they won't publish officially in the US as they publish all other Michael Ende books but this one. Probably his most famous work considering there is a movie, plays and musicals based on it in other countries. I eventually bought multiple copies in Tokyo and sent it off to many of my friends and they all loved it. The story is about time and how we use it. That's probably about all I need to say since I don't want to give any of it away. Its just that good.

An intricate story with a hidden satire on the birth of the fast-paced, all business society, told threw the eyes of orphan Momo, who loves her friends as her only family, she follows a turtle past the reaches of time to figure out why her friends do not come to talk to her anymore. This book is about time--stolen and hidden from people in constant motion, the dreams they had, and the gigantic love of one little girl. Micheal Ende magically weaved a subtle wit, humor, bravery, friendship, love and loss all together and created a story that I could not put down until I read it all the way through. Any generation can learn from this book--all you need is to take a bit of time!

I am so pleased that Momo is available again after being out of print. It is one of my all-time favorites. Read it aloud to your kids or your class. There is so much wisdom in this book and it is a great way to start conversations with children about the true values in life.

While the story in itself might appeal to very young children (the store recommends it for pre-school children) I think that its beautiful depth would be lost on them. I am positive that the book wasn't written with this age group in mind.

Momo is a book of extraordinary depth; Michael Ende has a lot to say about us human beings and the way we spend our time, and everyone should read it. For those of you complaining it isn't available in English: it certainly is! apparently not in the USA though. Try a british website.

This book should be required reading for everyone. It is a story about how the race to obtain the badges of success robs us of the time to enjoy the truly important things in life. I have given this book to all my friends since I read it.