RollnSmoke Reviews: The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner

The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner (Twelve, 2008)

Described as “one grump’s search for the happiest places in the world,” foreign correspondent Eric Weiner here describes how he travels the world in search of unheralded happy places. He explores The Netherlands, where he discovers the World Database of Happiness and moves from Switzerland to Bhutan, where the government has a policy for Gross National Happiness, to Qatar where money abides but culture is elusive, to Iceland, which is often rated #1 in the world for happiness, to Moldova where pervasive envy kills happiness, to permissive Thailand to utilitarian Great Britain to India, where he learns that love is more important than happiness, and finally home to America. Peppered with intelligent quips, this an amusing pastiche of philosophical insight and intriguing travelogue (8.5/10).