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 enlarge | Author: Eric Weiner
Publisher: Twelve
Category: Book
List Price: $25.99
Buy New: $14.38
You Save: $11.61 (45%)
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Rating:  87 reviews
Sales Rank: 3232
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 329
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.1 x 1.4
ISBN: 0446580260
Dewey Decimal Number: 910.4
EAN: 9780446580267
ASIN: 0446580260
Publication Date: January 3, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 A happy read January 15, 2008
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
Eric Weiner is an NPR correspondent who has reported from more than 30 countries. To write this far-reaching tome he had to travel to far-flung lands, all connected (with one exception) by a single thread: these were places where, reputedly, the citizenry is happy.
Two tiny countries offer a brilliant contrast in the principles that Weiner set out to examine. Qatar and Bhutan are relatively hard to reach. Both have inhospitable climates and a low population. Both have been altered greatly in very recent history, allowing for radical changes in the lifestyle of the citizenry.
Qatar is a pile of sand somewhere in the Middle East that became an earthly Eden when oil and natural gas were discovered there in such vast plentitude as to make work, for its extended family of Arabic inhabitants, obsolete. A Qatari will be paid to attend school, paid to marry, given a house and allowed to carelessly wreck as many cars as he sees fit. Rules no longer apply to the people of Qatar, in a broad sense, as long as they obey the dictates of their Islamic religion and stay inside, living within the bizarre hierarchy that dictates their society --- indoors because it is not possible to live very long without air conditioning in Qatar, which is basically a series of connected malls and mansions, and hierarchical because, of course, Qataris cannot do their own work. For that they import Indians, Nepalis and other lesser races.
These strictures made it difficult for Weiner to do what a journalist must do: interview the natives of the country. He was told that his American passport and Jewish name would prevent him from meeting real Qataris. So to experience the country, he had to be content with talking to expatriates and buying one "Ridiculously Expensive Pen." Of Qatari happiness he says, "Most of us have, at one time or another, felt a strange and wholly unexpected flash of unease accompany good news...you know you should be happy, but you're not, and you can't explain why." Qatar is a big winner in the lottery of world resources, but the very lack of friction in their lives is a deterrent to happiness.
Bhutan, on the other hand, is a country committed to the process of Gross National Happiness. An economically poor but physically spectacular country high in the Himalayas, Bhutan was said by some to be the model for the fictional Shangri-La described by author James Hilton in his book (later a film) LOST HORIZON. Its inhabitants can easily recall how, no more than 40 years ago, Bhutan had no electricity, schools or hospitals. Improvements have certainly ameliorated life for all Bhutanese. One woman Weiner spoke to said that "Life is better now. Except for television." She hadn't decided if television, only recently introduced, is good or bad, and indeed many Bhutanese worry about its violent influence on their otherwise polite, quietly content young people. "If the social scientists are right, the most efficient way to make someone from Bhutan happy is to give them more money...about fifteen thousand dollars a year," Weiner suggests with some sense of irony. More than that would be too much, as he observed in Qatar. The Buddhist Bhutanese are remarkably free from envy of others, and no one seems to be asking for that fifteen thousand.
Weiner's standards for measuring happiness came from various sources, including an institute in the Netherlands devoted to its study. His visits to Switzerland indicate that people can be quite happy with lots of rules if they have a hand in directly setting the rules, which the Swiss do by voting many times a year. The English can be happy despite their bad food and dreary climate because they have a sense of their own history and a devotion to family and home. In Thailand he found that sex can make people happy, even lots of uninhibited sex, if it's delivered with genuine smiles. He keeps his narrative light but fills every page with facts, resulting in a happy read.
To validate his research, Weiner visited one extremely unhappy country, Moldova, a depressing chunk of the former Soviet Union where the best that anyone could say about their homeland was that the vegetables and fruit were fresh. Moldovan women comprise a large pool of Internet scammer brides, finding American men particularly willing to send them thousands of dollars to pay taxes on a new car or other spurious expenses. That fifteen thousand per capita would probably make a big difference in the happiness quotient in Moldova.
On his return to America, Weiner located the latest happy community, one of many that spring up periodically according to the fashions of the times. Asheville, North Carolina, with its idyllic mountain setting and proliferation of good restaurants and New Age healing spas, is enjoying a vogue as a happy place to live. As one newly arrived resident puts it, "A lot of people spin the globe and their finger stops on Asheville."
However, Weiner warns, "The problem with finding paradise is that others might find it too. And that is what is happening in Asheville." I lived in Asheville for a few glory years in the 1990s, and watched gaping as property prices soared, traffic snarl increased and the demands of the beautiful people drove local businesses under. It made me see my own search for bliss as part of the problem, so I moved away. The Asheville that Weiner visited is already a good example of the "You shoulda been there when" phenomenon. He says, "Asheville is on the cusp. It could go either way." The question is, has it already gone?
Eric Weiner went to the far corners of the earth chasing happiness. Reading his book will help you examine what you need to be happy, and how far you are willing to go to get it. Or maybe help you realize that it's closer than you thought.
--- Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott
 A Book Above Expectations January 13, 2008
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.
Fun informative read January 12, 2008
75 out of 92 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 real treat: laugh, learn and ponder simultaneously January 7, 2008
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.
Bliss January 6, 2008
3 out of 12 found this review helpful
The author tries to define happiness with reference to
noted faraway places. As such, he has created a global
database of happiness naming the happiest places and
the most miserable alike. Bhutan has sought to quantify
the concept by tracking GNH or Gross National Happiness.
This concept has application in the USA because GNH
could be a pointer to a person's health and well being.
Happiness, itself is in the nature of a philosophical
universal very much like love, thoughtfulness and kindness.
Bhutan charges $200 per day for visitors. The country
is a lab of human betterment. Crime is low and life
expectancy is high. Health care is free.
All rulings are made through the prism of GNH.
The government of Qatar is described. Qataris favor retaining
the old. The government pays a salary to Qatar college students.
Saud bin Mohammad al-Thai is one of the richest men in the world
with well over $1.5 billion dollars. Seats on the Qatar Airline
are adjustable infinitely.
Iceland is another place which ranks high on the happiness scale.
The purest form of the Viking language is purported to be spoken
here. All governments are concerned about happiness; yet, some
measure and live it better than others. The work is somewhat
of an oddity in today's stressful world.
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