The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World

The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World | Eric Weiner | Excellent read

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The Geography of B...

	The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World Eric Weiner Twelve, 2008 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 72 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

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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Bliss is not nailed down but the effort is entertaining

On page 322 the author gets as close to defining happiness as is possible for him: "Money matters, but less than we think. Family is important. So are friends. Envy is toxic. So is excessive thinking. Beaches are optional. Trust is not. Neither is gratitude." This result of Eric Weiner's research is supported by many amusing and instructive international happiness stories (with statistics woven in). This "supporting data" is what makes the book go.

Excellent read

I really enjoyed this book. As some have commented, it is both very funny and very thought-provoking at the same time. In fact there are so many theories on what does and does not create happiness throughout the book that my head began to spin after awhile. While many people have naturally compared him to Bill Bryson (usually favorably, sometimes not), I was reminded more of (1) Elizabeth Gilbert's great book "Eat, Love, Pray" (since Bryson's writing tends to be heavier on the descriptive and lighter on the contemplative), as well as (2) A.J. Jacobs, who--though not a travel writer--still has a similar humorous writing style as Weiner.

Three things surprised me about his choice of countries. First they are all north of the equator. No South America, no countries in Africa, etc. Second, I'm surprised he didn't pick one or two sunny vacation-type spots, like in the Caribbean or something similar. This is not so much because people there necessarily WOULD be happier in those places, but perhaps we imagine that they would be and he could have told us what the reality is, or seems to be. Finally, I've always heard that Australians are quite happy and I would have been interested in read his take on that. Maybe Australia is just too big for him to take on.

Anyway, I really recommend the book.

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A blissful book

"The Geography of Bliss" was a pleasure to read. Weiner combines armchair travel with wry humor that often had me laughing out loud. It was a fun and painless way to "visit" some exotic places on earth that I would never dream of visiting. Evidently, we humans can adjust and be happy in a variety of climates and cultures. In the words of my favorite character, Luba from Moldova, I rate this book much higher than her typical "feevty-feevty."

Entertaining, informative, and funny

"The Geography of Bliss" is a very enjoyable read. The author travels to several different countries to try to determine how high (or low) the overall level of happiness of a particular country is and how a country's culture defines happiness. I'm a little wary of someone drawing conclusions that may seem to stereotype entire nations, so I took this book with the proverbial grain of salt. That being said, "The Geography of Bliss" is both very interesting and quite funny; I laughed out loud several times. Weiner is a self-admitted grump who isn't a particularly happy person himself, which made Weiner's journey not just academic, but personal as well.
Each chapter of the book covers a particular country visited by Weiner. I especially enjoyed the chapter on Moldova, which may be a bit ironic as Weiner found it to be an extremely depressing place. Weiner also interweaves his experiences with theories on happiness from philosophers through the ages, and with current scientific research on "selective well being." It is also interesting to learn how governments have gotten involved in the happiness "business." Many of Weiner's conclusions as to what makes people happy may be common sense, but others may surprise you. If you like travel, learning, and laughing, give "The Geography of Bliss" a try.

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