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"These entries imaginatively connect confidence to everything from capitalism to leaving a party early, make for a thought-provoking and wide-ranging exploration. Those seeking an extra shot of self-esteem will be rewarded" - Publishers Weekly
A curated selection of 40 photographs and artworks with accompanying essays examining confidence as a skill
James Baldwin on a bridge in Paris, happy in the freedom of his self-determined exile…
The Bloomsbury Group, well-mannered disruptors…
Barack Obama, captured at ease in the Oval Office…
Everyday life, unique architecture, people in movement going against the grain: in forty iconic images, On Confidence illustrates moments of happiness and ease.
This first in a new giftable series—with photographs and short, inspiring essays, and featuring artists and photographers like Vincent van Gogh, Mary Cassat, Pablo Picasso, Adrienne Salinger, and Sian Davey — On Confidence shows us that confidence is a skill that can be learned, and used for success.
The School of Life is a rapidly growing international brand, with over 7 million YouTube subscribers, 354,000 Facebook followers, 309,000 Instagram followers and 172,000 Twitter followers. The School of Life Press brings together the thinking and ideas of The School of Life creative team under the direction of series editor, Alain de Botton.
Introduction
Georgina, Roxbury, Massachusetts, 2010
Members of the Bloomsbury Group, 1915
Café Terrace at Night, 1888
Beach Therapy, 2018
James Baldwin on the Quai des Grands Augustins, Paris, April 1972
US President Obama and Ella Rhodes, October 2015
In Search of Lost Time, 1909
Lumière Cinematograph, 1895
Tony Blair, St John’s College, Oxford, 1972
Parlourmaid and Under-Parlourmaid Ready to Serve Dinner, 1938
Portrait of a Young Man, 1530s
Victor Hugo, 1876
Mother and Child, 1914
Angela Merkel and Joachim Sauer, 2013
Bonito tuna, reliquary fish, early 20th century
Worshippers pray to the Virgin Mary in the village of Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2015
Lively child and exasperated mother, date unknown
Martha, 2017
Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, 1969
New York City, 1990
Hedgehog, Historia animalium, 1551
Biblioteca Geral da Universidade de Coimbra IV, 2006
Family corner shop, Brick Lane, London, 1974
Florence, Italy, 2020
New York, 1967
Ski Day, Kitzbuhel, 2017
The Pigeons, c. 1957
Rush hour, 1930
The François Vase, c. 570–565 BCE
Train and Barges, 1909
With In #II, date unknown
Kalyani, 2016
A Hermit, 1661
Microhome, Tokyo, 2019
Studio 54, New York, 1978–1980
Happy Valley, 2014
KLM Boeing 777 landing in bad weather, 2020
Pale Blue Dot, 1990
The Blind Leading the Blind, 1568
Life and Death Contrasted, 1784
Illustration List