Overview

Everybody wants it. But what exactly is happiness?The pursuit of happiness has been recognized by everyone from poets to politicians as what makes the world go round. The world's largest and fastest-growing industries - alcohol, pharmaceuticals, mind altering drugs, self-help books, counselling, travel and tourism - all profit heavily from our intent to become completely happy with our lives.In the first comprehensive book to address this most basic of human desires, Daniel Nettle explores why we want to be happy, how we assess our levels of happiness, and the different ways that happiness is interpreted in different cultures. Using statistical information from the National Child Development Study, a project that has collected social and emotional data from thousands of people since 1958, Nettle shows the ways in which definitions and sources of happiness have changed over time.

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9780192805591

Table of Contents

Reviews

`The author unearths a few everyday characteristics shared by people who say they are happy, including good health, a feeling of autonomy, and social connectiveness. To that list, one might add browsing through this thought-provoking book.' O:The Oprah Magazine `excellent survey of the subject- a lucid, intelligent, and thoughtful essay' Lancet `An authoritative, challenging, even profound analysis of the most up-to-date research into its subject.' Winston Fletcher, THES

`The author unearths a few everyday characteristics shared by people who say they are happy, including good health, a feeling of autonomy, and social connectiveness. To that list, one might add browsing through this thought-provoking book.' O:The Oprah Magazine `excellent survey of the subject- a lucid, intelligent, and thoughtful essay' Lancet `An authoritative, challenging, even profound analysis of the most up-to-date research into its subject.' Winston Fletcher, THES

A lucid and sensible survey of the latest research. Independent Well written, accurate and engaging, with a lightness of touch that makes it a delight to read. Nature An authoritative, challenging, even profound analysis of the most up-to-date research into its subject. Winston Fletcher, THES Excellent survey of the subject - a lucid, intelligent, and thoughtful essay. The Lancet

Author Information

Daniel Nettle is Lecturer in Biological Psychology at the Open University. As well as specialist in scholarly and scientific articles, he is author of three OUP books, Vanishing Voices (with Suzanne Romaine), Linguistic Diversity, and Strong Imagination: Madness, Creativity, and Human Nature. Vanishing Voices was winner of the BAAL prize for 2001, and was described by The New Yorker as 'a superb study of endangered languages'. Strong Imagination was described as 'a fascinating, pithy little book' (Sunday Times), giving 'a critical survey of current psychiatric knowledge that is as good an overview as is available from any source' (Times Literary Supplement).

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