Most people seem resigned to exchanging at least eight hours of daily tedium for money. Most people like money and will work more and more hours for it. Not many have much fun doing what they do, and fewer still actually enjoy it. However, an increasing number of men and women are choosing to focus more on the satisfaction they derive from their work. Pat Kane, a Scottish musician/journalist/commentator, argues in The Play Ethic that the time has come to get over the industrial revolution and play more by working less. Play isn't about shirking responsibility, but rather being more imaginative and confident about experimenting and taking chances. Will Hutton said in The Guardian newspaper that the quest for happiness and the desire to strike a work-life balance is 'coming of age', with employers increasingly open to giving people 'some autonomy over how they use their time'. And economists are questioning whether the profit motive really explains why people work. This book is a fascinating exposition on how we might all lead better lives. But it does sound a bit like hard work.