<DIV><BR>We’re hammered, we’re slammed, we’re out of control. Happiness is on the decline in the most affluent country in the world, and Americans are troubled by the destructiveness of a lifestyle devoted to money and status. Yet no one seems to have a clue how to exit from the fast lane.<br> <br><I>Slow is Beautiful</I> analyzes the subtle consumer and political and corporate forces stamping the joy from our existence and provides a vision of a more fulfilling life through the rediscovery of caring community, unhurried leisure, and life-affirming <I>joie de vivre.</I> The book discusses:<br> <br> • The frantic time poverty plaguing everyone—a poverty that is being challenged by the growing slow life movement whose message is reverberating around the world<br> • The need to build a <I>culture of connection</I> with both people and the planet by challenging the consumer society and re-creating vibrant life in our local communities<br> • The creation of a different experience of time where we live life in slower, more reflective ways, savoring our lives and recapturing exuberance and laughter<br> <br>Offering inspiration and concrete ideas, <I>Slow is Beautiful</I> will appeal to a broad audience of baby boomers nearing retirement, harried professionals with a social conscience, the one-time “middle class,” and twenty- to thirty-somethings who are now facing the sobering realities of constricted choices.</DIV>