The geography of bliss : one grump's search for the happiest places in the world / Eric Weiner.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

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.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction (p. 1)
• Chapter 1 The Netherlands: Happiness Is a Number (p. 5)
• Chapter 2 Switzerland: Happiness Is Boredom (p. 27)
• Chapter 3 Bhutan: Happiness Is a Policy (p. 49)
• Chapter 4 Qatar: Happiness Is a Winning Lottery Ticket (p. 97)
• Chapter 5 Iceland: Happiness Is Failure (p. 141)
• Chapter 6 Moldova: Happiness Is Somewhere Else (p. 185)
• Chapter 7 Thailand: Happiness Is Not Thinking (p. 219)
• Chapter 8 Great Britain: Happiness Is a Work in Progress (p. 245)
• Chapter 9 India: Happiness Is a Contradiction (p. 275)
• Chaprer 10 America: Happiness Is Home (p. 307)
• Epilogue: Are We There Yet? (p. 321)
• Acknowledgments (p. 327)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Fortified with Eeyoreish fatalism-"I'm already unhappy. I have nothing to lose"-Weiner set out on a yearlong quest to find the world's "unheralded happy places." Having worked for years as an NPR foreign correspondent, he'd gone to many obscure spots, but usually to report bad news or terrible tragedies. Now he'd travel to countries like Iceland, Bhutan, Qatar, Holland, Switzerland, Thailand and India to try to figure out why residents tell "positive psychology" researchers that they're actually quite happy. At his first stop, Rotterdam's World Database of Happiness, Weiner is confronted with a few inconvenient truths. Contrary to expectations, neither greater social equality nor greater cultural diversity is associated with greater happiness. Iceland and Denmark are very homogeneous, but very happy; Qatar is extremely wealthy, but Weiner, at least, found it rather depressing. He wasn't too fond of the Swiss, either, uncomfortable with their "quiet satisfaction, tinged with just a trace of smugness." In the end, he realized happiness isn't about economics or geography. Maybe it's not even personal so much as "relational." In the end, Weiner's travel tales-eating rotten shark meat in Iceland, smoking hashish in Rotterdam, trying to meditate at an Indian ashram-provide great happiness for his readers. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

A self-proclaimed grump, Weiner has spent a decade as a foreign correspondent for National Public Radio, giving him ample opportunity to view the human condition around the world. Intrigued by the ingredients for bliss, he consulted with a Dutch professor of happiness studies, who set him off on a journey to visit places known to have happiness indexes. Iceland ranks because of its high tolerance for failure and Qatar for its extreme wealth. Weiner explores tranquility in Bhutan, the closest thing to Shangri-La, which has a government policy on Gross National Happiness. In Moldova, the former Soviet Republic in the miserable throes of recovery, he defines happiness as being elsewhere. In Britain, he finds a people put off by the American enthusiasm for happiness, and at home, he finds an endless pursuit of joy that evades us even as we are alone in status as a superpower. Grouchy or not, Weiner displays an openness to other cultures and a huge sense of humor in this absorbing, funny, and thoughtful look at notions of bliss.--Bush, Vanessa Copyright 2007 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

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. Intent on finding the happiest places on Earth and learning what makes them that way, globe-trotting NPR correspondent Weiner discovers some surprises. Money helps, but only to a point; the happiest places tend to be racially homogenous (an unfortunate statistic for multiculturalists); the greatest obstacle to happiness is not poverty or oppression, but envy; breast-enhancement surgery appears to be a good investment, happiness-wise. The author vividly renders happily repressed Switzerland, determinedly tolerant and hedonistic Holland and culturally vibrant Iceland as models of happiness-encouraging environments. (Another surprise: Happiness flourishes in cold climates.) Excursions to Bhutan and India provide a spiritual perspective and underscore the wisdom of low expectations. For contrast, Weiner visits some decidedly unhappy spots: England's dismal Slough ("a showpiece of quiet desperation"); newly rich Qatar, choking on cash but devoid of culture; and miserable Moldova, whose citizens live by an ethos of envy, corruption, vicious self-interest and pleasure in the misfortune of others. The Moldova chapter is the book's funniest--nothing inspires comedy like misfortune and despair. But Weiner writes of the morose Moldovans with affectionate warmth and manages to find something positive to say about the country: The fruits and vegetables are fresh. Americans, despite their wealth and comfort, don't make the top ranks of the world-happiness index--they think too much, work too hard and look for satisfaction in consumer goods. The author's pronouncements on the nature of happiness are not exactly world-shaking: It depends on cooperative relationships and community; it has spiritual value; it can be attained as a conscious choice. But the author's conclusions are hardly the point--as with all great journeys, getting there is at least half the fun. Fresh and beguiling. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.