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The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World |  | Author: Eric Weiner
Publisher: Twelve
Category: Book
List Price: $13.99
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Seller: Quick_N_Easy Marketplace
Rating:  156 reviews
Sales Rank: 35496
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 368
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 910.4
ASIN: B0033AGSQY
Publication Date: January 5, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Part foreign affairs discourse, part humor, and part twisted self-help guide, The Geography of Bliss takes the reader from America to Iceland to India in search of happiness, or, in the crabby author's case, moments of "un-unhappiness." The book uses a beguiling mixture of travel, psychology, science and humor to investigate not what happiness is, but where it is. Are people in Switzerland happier because it is the most democratic country in the world? Do citizens of Qatar, awash in petrodollars, find joy in all that cash? Is the King of Bhutan a visionary for his initiative to calculate Gross National Happiness? Why is Asheville, North Carolina so damn happy? With engaging wit and surprising insights, Eric Weiner answers those questions and many others, offering travelers of all moods some interesting new ideas for sunnier destinations and dispositions. (2007)
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 156
 A superb read December 24, 2007
A. M. Apostolou (Washington DC, USA)
32 out of 36 found this review helpful
Eric Weiner, a well known and amusing journalist, has produced one of the funniest and sharpest books on the market. The search for what makes people happy can easily become an exercise in tedious piety, a too earnest account that reads like an economic research paper. Not so with Weiner, whose deft touch amuses and enlightens, in precisely that order. By taking this wry approach, Weiner is rather more profound than he would concede, and less grumpy than he would like to appear. That is the beauty of "The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World," it is a very learned and intelligent book that wears its erudition lightly and communicates insights with skill and many wonderful laughs.
Unhappy Man Has Fun Seeking Happy Place February 6, 2008
GENE GERUE (Zanoni, MO USA)
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
Author, Eric Weiner, is mired in the bad-news business of journalism. As a correspondent for National Public Radio he has reported from Miami, New Delhi, Jerusalem, Afghanistan, Tokyo, and Iraq. He has covered wars and conflicts. He has won awards for coverage of Islamic issues in Asia and the tobacco industry in the U.S. He has focused on a lot of bad stuff--which often seems the modern definition of news. It is no wonder that he openly cops to being unhappy.
Weiner's quest here is to find a place and conditions that might cheer him up. He apparently considers only slightly the fact that any place he goes, he takes his unhappy self with him. The sub-title, One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World, sets the stage.
Can the conditions of place cause or at least contribute to happiness? My personal experience and letters from readers says yes. I confined my search to the contiguous 48 states; travelholic Weiner takes us to nine more countries.
First to The Netherlands and the World Database of Happiness to learn what Ruut Veenhoven, "the godfather of happiness research" knows. On to Switzerland, where the natives feel more than contentment but less than joy. Thence to Bhutan, where the king has proclaimed Gross National Happiness; Qatar, where each new husband gets a $7,000 monthly allowance, a building lot and a no-interest home loan; Iceland, where we learn that colder is happier; Moldova, "the least happy nation on the planet" according to Veenhoven's data; Thailand, where keeping the long view of life creates much joking and laughter; Great Britain, where culture hinders happiness; India, a destination happy place; and then back home to Miami, where all that sunshine leaves our author cold.
We learn that money wealth gives but a small edge. America is the richest country the world has ever known, yet our self-help bookshelves sag. As poet-laureate, Charles Simic, noted in a recent interview: "It's an industry. It's really frightening. People need to read a book on how to be happy? It's completely an American thing."
Lucky for we readers, Weiner (pronounced whiner, poor guy) has a happy sense of humor that has survived the negative focus of journalism. The Geography of Bliss is a fun read, a lively travelogue of ideas, a mind tickler, a book that fulfills its purpose.
What I take from this entertaining tome is that a myriad of factors contribute to happiness: society, culture, community, biophilia, relationships, belonging, trust, openness, creativity, action, flexibility, unpredictability, altruism, a healthy balance of comparative feelings, hedonism, but not too much, and money, but just a bit. And, yes, place--if it allows these things.
On my writing studio wall is a framed piece of calligraphy that sums it up for me. It reads: "The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, someone to love and something to hope for." (Joseph Addison--1672-1719)
Fun informative read January 12, 2008
MotherLodeBeth (Sierras of California)
78 out of 97 found this review helpful
The author isn't a grump as much as he is an AARP aged skeptic as he sets out to travel the world to see and study people and what makes them happy or unhappy with where they live. Its interesting that Denmark and Singapore are the happiest, and one would assume its because they are small countries, or at least one nationality or race countries.
But it is more apt to be the case that each is a country with a sense of order which everyone is expected to adhere to, as well as non corrupt leaders which gives a sense of security. They are also countries that don't go looking for trouble with other countries and as such each is a peaceful place.
Italy it turns out has the least happy citizens and this is attributed to a country whose leaders can pretty much be assumed to be corrupt or on the take even before elected. When you have leaders in Denmark who make a lot of money, citizens assume they wont need to take money from special interest groups. Ironically in Denmark taxes are over 60% yet citizens know that everyone is treated the same and has the same opportunities.
As to why citizens of Asheville, North Carolina are amongst the happiest here in the states, I think the author is correct, nice weather, affordable housing, lovely scenery, and a slower pace of life, yet an active cultural scene is a major plus. Here in California we have great weather and a plethora of things to do, but so many people have to commute two hours one way, just to afford decent housing that it makes for a lot of stress and stress isn't something that makes one happy. Seattle is a great place, but the grey skies can wreck havoc on a person with seasonal issues like lack of sunshine.
Something of interest as far as the Danes go, is their lack of materialism. No need to keep up with the Jones. Same with citizens of African countries that on the surface are poor by western standards. Yet, happiness came from having a close family whom one knows will be there. The book can teach Americans some valuable lessons and I recommend it big time.
A Book Above Expectations January 13, 2008
D. A. Weaver (Longview, Texas USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Several times I have purchased books on Amazon after hearing an interview on Public Radio or C-Span's Book TV and was disappointed after getting the tome and actually reading it. My experience with this book was different in that I heard Eric interviewed on NPR, thought he was bright and interesting and bought his book and absolutely loved it.
Having visited most of the places mentioned in the book, and being a lover of human geography, I was delighted with the author's observations and conclusions. I highly recommend this book. I enjoyed the writer's sense of humor and writing style.
I have also decided to "dance while I can," no matter who's watching.
A real treat: laugh, learn and ponder simultaneously January 7, 2008
S. Ferguson (Washington, DC)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I absolutely loved this book. It was surprising that I found myself underlining so many funny, thought-provoking, interesting passages. It was a great read for a world traveler (i.e. me), but I also bought a copy for my mom, because it's so multi-dimensional and entertaining that I thought she'd enjoy it, too.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 156
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