The Geography of Bliss

Description

Eric Weiner, a self-described mope (his name is, ironically, pronounced Whiner) has covered a multitude of maladies and catastrophies in over thirty countries during his career as a journalist. But in this his first book, he decided to tell the other side of the story. Armed with the dodgy wisdom of the self-help industry, Weiner makes his way from Iceland (one of the world's most contented places) to Bhutan (where the king has made Gross National Happiness a national priority) to India (where happiness and misery live side-by-side) in a quest to investigate what happiness is, and also where it is. Are people in Switzerland happier because it is the most democratic country in the world? Do citizens of Singapore benefit psychologically by having their options limited by the government? Why is Asheville, North Carolina so damn happy? Why don't Brits do happiness? And more importantly, can anything be learnt from these different cultures? With engaging wit and insight, Eric Weiner answers these questions and more, offering travelers of all moods interesting new ideas for reaching sunnier destinations and dispositions.

Eric Weiner spent a decade as a foreign correspondent for National Public Radio in the US. He has been based in New Dehli, Jerusalem and Tokyo and has reported from more than thirty countries. He's also served as a correspondent for NPR in New York, Miami and, currently, Washington D.C. Weiner is a former reporter for the New York Times and a Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University. After travelling the world, he has settled quasi-happily, in the Washington area, where he divides his time between his living room and his kitchen.

Part travelogue, part personal-discovery memoir and all sustained delight, this wise, witty ramble reads like Paul Theroux channeling David Sedaris on a particularly good day...Fresh and beguiling." * Kirkus Reviews *