'The Happiness Myth: Why What We Think Is Right Is Wrong' by Jennifer Michael Hecht - Poetry Connection

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Books : The Happiness Myth: Why What We Think Is Right Is Wrong

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by: Jennifer Michael Hecht See Larger Image List Price: $24.95 Amazon.com's Price: $16.47 You Save: $8.48 (34%) Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 11 to 13 days Binding: Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number: 170 EAN: 9780060813970 ISBN: 0060813970 Label: HarperOne Manufacturer: HarperOne Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 368 Publication Date: April 01, 2007 Publisher: HarperOne Release Date: April 10, 2007 Sales Rank: 565211 Studio: HarperOne Related Items: Doubt: A History: The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything Funny (Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry) The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever see more Editorial Review: Product Description: Historian Jennifer Michael Hecht looks at contemporary happiness advice, explains why much of it doesn't work, and why it drives us crazy and makes us miserable. Using a social/pop-culture look at the world, she begins her inquiry through the lens of today's most often perused paths towards attaining happiness - money, mood-managing drugs, knowledge, celebration, and bodies - and then reveals unsuspected insights about how these approaches have faired throughout history. We moderns think we're so scientific - but our happiness solutions today are just as quirky as any group in history. With a new-found historical perspective, Hecht liberates us from the scolding, quasi-scientific messages that insist there's only one way to care for our minds and bodies. Rich with anecdotes about both failed and successful paths to happiness, Hecht traces a common thread of advice she calls 'sour charm wisdom' that we can still apply today to create authentic, lasting happiness. Customer Reviews Average Rating: Rating: - A different take on happiness Jennifer Michael Hecht is one of the most original young skeptical writers to appear in a long time. Her Doubt: A History is a must-read for anyone seriously interested in skepticism across time and cultures, including the many -- usually under appreciated -- religious skeptics. Hecht's more recent volume, The Happiness Myth: The Historical Antidote to What Isn't Working Today, should also be on the shelf of anyone seriously interested in happiness. And who on earth isn't? There has ... Read More Rating: - excellent historical perspective on what floats your boat At last, a book on happiness that is warm, human, intelligent, non-prescriptive, tolerant and comes with a real understanding of the historical changes of what people mean by happiness. Most (modern) books on happiness seem to be poisoned by ideology, or even statistics. (Are you bored yet with those endless recitations of how Europeans rate themselves unhappier than peoples with a tenth of their GDP, how Russians and Latvians seem so gloomy?) Look on the bright side! One of the authors of ... Read More Rating: - many flaws; actually advocates drugs I'm amazed that so many think she's a good writer; I disagree. But I'm more amazed no one has even mentioned that she advocates drug use, and while she writes a great deal about it, does not really build a well reasoned argument to support her outrageous point. "It is clear to me that adults who want to know more about happiness ought to employ drugs... I would not counsel the use of illegal drugs for happiness, because despite the moral call to civil disobedience in relation to unreasonable ... Read More Rating: - Worthwhile but exhausting First the bad: I'll be honest, I skipped quite a few pages in this book. I don't think this qualifies as great writing, although it is passable. It was too verbose, too convoluted, and too repetitive. In my opinion, good writing is clear and simple. This book could have been a great book with a much better editor. Now for the good: I still gave the book three stars though, and I do think it is worth reading (or at least skimming), because of the argument she makes. It is truly paradigm shifting to contemplate ... Read More Rating: - A Great Book I am finding this to be a most insightful book. As with her previous book that I have recently read ("Doubt"), she is a widely read author, with a most astute wit, and possesses a neat way of encapsulating her ideas into sharp focus. Thank you for bringing this book to my attention! see more

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