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The View from Ninety

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

FROM THE BEST SELLING AUTHOR OF THE EMPTY RAINCOAT AND UNDERSTANDING ORGANISATIONS.

Over a span of seven decades, Charles Handy was, variously, a businessman, a writer, a philanthropist and a philosopher. Not even a stroke as he approached the age of 90 dimmed his intellectual curiosity or his immense zest for life.

In this, his final book, written from the vantage point of a contemplative old age and drawing on his articles for The Idler he shares his thoughts on the big questions with which we all grapple:

What things really matter?
What daily worries should we learn to treat as unimportant?
How do we become more accepting of ourselves and of those around us?
How do we discover purpose in our everyday existence? How do we cope with grief and loss?

Drawing in part on his own experience, in part on the wisdom of others, he sets out the principles of enjoying a fulfilled and contented life, and gently points the way to the practicalities of achieving it.

© Charles Handy 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critics Review

A guru
The Times
A wise and gentle commentator
The Guardian
Offers wit, wisdom and gratitude. […] Charles Handy’s 19th and last book is not his heftiest. But it may be, in some important respects, his weightiest. These final breaths of wisdom sacrifice little of Handy’s wit, charm and storytelling skill.
Financial Times
Rightly treasured as Charles Handy’s books are, his most important lesson may be his life. This collection of short reflections on life, work and people… reflects old age, but its spirit doesn’t. Handy’s later books are only indirectly about business… but paradoxically that is exactly why any business leader would profit from reading it. Sharp insights abound.
Director Magazine
A thought-provoking recap of some of the prescient and radical ideas that marked his career, while also offering his touching final insights into life and death.
Financial Times, Best Books of 2025
Author Charles Handy
Narrator Scott Handy
Duration 3 hours and 35 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781804955857
Format Audiobook
Publisher Cornerstone
Genre Business and Management, Coping with ageing, Ethics and moral philosophy, Memoirs, Popular philosophy
Availability AU, GB, IE, US

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