The Optimist: One Man's Search for the Brighter Side of Life
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'Learning how Richard Branson remains eternally cheerful or how a Buddhist monk became known as 'the happiest man in the world' is pretty inspiring.' Metro
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Collapsing stock markets, melting ice caps, floods, tornadoes, terrorism ...When it comes to bad news, we've never had it so good. Perhaps it is time to be a little more optimistic? That's what Laurence Shorter decided. And that's why he set himself the challenge of meeting the world's most cheerful people. Surely with the help of Desmond Tutu, Richard Branson and Bill Clinton, Laurence can find the secret to inner happiness. But first things first - how on Earth is he going to get to meet them?
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny and inspiring -- the New British Dream,
By
This review is from: The Optimist: One Man's Search for the Brighter Side of Life (Paperback)
Who needs anti-depressants, happy endings or chocolate pudding when you can wallow in a book like this? It's very hard to package what is basically a historical review of the philosophy of happiness into something you can read on the loo, tube and plane. Shorter takes us on a journey around the world -- from New York to India, South Africa to London -- and asks the question we all wrestle with -- how can we be perpetually happy? -- in a subtle and engaging way. And he gives us answers, without ever resorting to Oprah-esque platitudes or the empty sillinesses of the self-help brigade. His self-deprecating wit throws Toby Young into shadows of mediocrity; his taut and elegant prose augurs well for future books; and his empathy and humanity are inspirational. Suck it up, cynics! Here is the New British Dream in its multi-coloured, fragile glory!
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The frisky feel-good factor for real,
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This review is from: The Optimist: One Man's Search for the Brighter Side of Life (Paperback)
What do we most need at a time of near universal gloom and feeble-minded pessimism? A shot of optimism, that's what. It's one of Laurence Shorter's triumphs to provide this welcome boost, to remind us of what we already have rather than what we think we need and put a smile on our faces while he's at it. Insightful, highly amusing and a wonderful read. Memorable encounters with some of our planet's most optimistic minds make this a lively and informative romp across a subject that has exercised homo sapiens from the earliest times. Bravo!
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Little Miss Happy,
By little miss happy (London) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Optimist: One Man's Search for the Brighter Side of Life (Paperback)
I was won over by the accessbility of the writing and the endearing way in which the narrator contrasts the 'big' ideas with the challenges he faces in his own everyday existence. Laurence Shorter writes with assurance but is unafraid to to lay himself bare. I found by the end of reading the book it had managed to awake some pretty dormant positive attitudes and my outlook had noticeably brightened - a result that is surely worth a few quid of anyone's money?
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