The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World
by Eric Weiner
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Book Summary Information
Author: Eric WeinerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-01-05
ISBN: 044669889X
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Twelve
Book Reviews of The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World
Book Review: Don't Worry! Be Happy!
Summary: 5 Stars
After the self-described "grump" Eric Weiner had roamed the globe for ten years as an NPR correspondent, he wondered what he'd find if he spent a year just traveling from happy country to happy country. Or to not-so-happy country. He wanted to see what makes the people tick. Or be ticked off, as the case may be.
And so he began his journey, resulting in this witty, sharp travelogue of ideas, "The Geography of Bliss."
He set out from Miami to Holland, where there is a World Database of Happiness. The people there are very happy, but Mr. Weiner is not finding bliss in a place where anything goes. He needs freedom from all the freedom. Then again, it's not Moldova.
Switzerland! They have direct democracy and vote seven or eight times a year on large and small issues. The Swiss cantons (states) that had the most democracy were the home of the happiest people. And yet, 21 pages after first entering the country of the clocks with birds, chocolate-eating, efficient, punctual, wealthy Swiss, Mr. Weiner decides that they may not be actually happy but know how to enjoy themselves.
Then we have Bhutan. They have towering mountains, a benevolent king, mystics and an actual government policy of Gross National Happiness. On their houses and throughout the land are painted huge colorful...things...to ward off evil spirits. If I had one of these things painted on the side of my house, the local government would have a collective fit, as would everyone in my town. But the Bhutanians are proud of them. And the people trust each other. Several studies (there are lots and LOTS of studies on happiness) have shown that trust may be the biggest factor in determining our happiness.
Here is Iceland. The very word sounds cold and dreary. In some studies, dark and icy Iceland ranks #1 in happiness. Mr. Weiner's friends told him that in order to understand what makes them tick, he needed to observe them in their natural state: PICKLED. "It's perfectly acceptable to drink yourself comatose on the weekend, but so much as sip a glass of Chardonnay on a Tuesday night and you're branded a lush."
"Creativity," the author states, "is rampant in Iceland." Either in spite of or because of the bleak landscape, the people are poetic and happy.
Tiny Qatar is loaded, but not like the Icelandic people on weekends. It's the wealthiest country on earth. However, the women are covered from head to toe. But they are allowed to drive and vote, so they're more free than women in Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Weiner wants to know what happens if he indulges in "excessive, obscene---truly obscene---amounts of luxury." He and his credit card are determined to find out in Qatar.
About 80% of the people who live there are servants from other countries. Qatarians don't do menial work or even housework. (Sign me up!) (Oh. Wait. I forgot that head-to-toe outfit.)
Everything is free. Water, electricity, health care, education---college students are paid a salary just for being in school. When a Qatar man marries, the government gives him a plot of land, an interest-free mortgage and a monthly allowance of $7,000. And there are no taxes! Are they happy?
On to Thailand. They smile. A lot. Thais accept what happens to them. If things don't work out in this life, there is always the next. The thought of second chances brings happiness. Hope that second chance doesn't involve Moldova.
India is a contradiction. Mr. Weiner has a love and hate relationship with India. Not alternately. Simultaneously. "India does not disappoint. It captivates and infuriates."
But are the billion Indians happy? In yet another study, hundreds of street people in Calcutta were interviewed, as were hundreds of homeless people in Fremont, California.
Calcutta's street people were much more happy than those in California. India's poor have strong social ties. Family. Friends. "No one is really homeless in India. Houseless, perhaps. But not homeless."
If a person in India is poor, fate, the gods or negative karma are blamed. In addition, of course, they don't live in Moldova.
Mr. Weiner's search is over, after tens of thousands of miles. He sums up his thoughts of places and bliss in the Epilogue.
Happiness is reading "The Geography of Bliss." Two pieces of advice: Read this book and STAY OUT OF MOLDOVA.
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Summary of The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World
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)Happiness Books
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