The Lost Art of People-Watching

A moving meditation on the disappearing joy of people watching, from a widely-acclaimed observer of everyday life

'This book is a true delight' Katherine May, author of Wintering

A heart-warming meditation on an underappreciated pleasure

The fascinating practice of people watching is beginning to disappear and we are often too busy with our devices to notice those around us. But what do we miss when they all go unseen?

Whether in lecture halls or offices, cafés or courtyards, Professor Joe Moran has spent many hours watching people – and he’s learnt that we can’t fully understand others unless we really look at them properly. In The Lost Art of People-Watching he shows us how this uniquely human pastime can teach us to pay attention to the things we normally overlook and thus learn new things about ourselves.

Along the way, he introduces famous people-watching sociologists, anthropologists, artists and writers, from Erving Goffman and Desmond Morris to Barbara Pym and Virginia Woolf. Through Moran’s own ‘field research’, he reveals the hidden strangeness of human behaviour, from the unspoken language of couples to workplace rituals, and the unlikely things that unite us.

In a digital-driven world, The Lost Art of People Watching encourages us to be more curious about those around us, about our quirks and commonalities – and shows us how our lives will be richer for it.

'Inviting and exquisitely perceptive' Kieran Setiya, author of Life is Hard