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The Lost Art of People-Watching
  • Published: 28 January 2027
  • ISBN: 9781405972116
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 320
Categories:

The Lost Art of People-Watching

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

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. 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 Alice Neel and Virginia Woolf. Through Moran’s own ‘field research’, he reveals the hidden strangeness of human behaviour, from the unique 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 our similarities – and shows us how our lives will be richer for it.
  • Published: 28 January 2027
  • ISBN: 9781405972116
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 320
Categories:

About the author

Joe Moran

Joe Moran is Professor of English and Cultural History at Liverpool John Moores University and is the author of seven books, including Shrinking Violets: The Secret Life of Shyness, First You Write a Sentence and If You Should Fail. He writes for, among others, the Guardian, the New Statesman and the Times Literary Supplement.
JM

Also by Joe Moran

If You Should Fail
First You Write a Sentence.
See all

Praise for The Lost Art of People-Watching

'Habit and routine make us blind to the everyday familiar but Joe Moran reveals that the people we rarely notice in railway stations, parks, restaurants, and on city streets, are all uniquely mysterious and unknowable, as indeed are the people we think we know well. A salutary and eloquent reminder that the mundane is in fact the exotic. Thoroughly enjoyable.'

Michael Foley, author of The Age of Absurdity 

'Combining fascinating theory and history with beautiful human observation, this book is a true delight.'

Katherine May, author of Wintering

‘Building on deep thought and curiosity, this beautifully-written book will help you fully appreciate the rich world of humanity’

Erling Kagge, author of Silence: In the Age of Noise

'A delicious meditation on the messy, human stories we need in our optimised world. Moran's easy prose makes meandering through the everyday as thrilling as a ride on a roller coaster.'

Aleks Krotoski, author of The Immortalists