The Secret Of Happiness: Three thousand years of searching for the good life [Hardcover]

"Hugely enjoyable...a slap in the face to the self-help industry." Julian Baggini "A genial guide." Alain de Botton, Daily Telegraph "Full of interesting anecdotes" Daily Mail "Deeply considered and immensely well-informed... compels us to think afresh about how we behave." Professor Stanley Wells "Original...enlivened by Schoch's witty asides." Psychologies" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'Deeply considered and immensely well informed ... this book compels us to think afresh about who we are and how we behave' -- Professor Stanley Wells 'Schoch's hugely enjoyable book is a slap in the face to the self-help industry, a kick up the rear to the "new science of happiness", and a challenge to we atheists who believe religion has nothing useful to contribute to the quest for happiness.' -- Julian Baggini

A stylish, witty book about happiness that explains with authority what happiness actually is and why understanding its history can help us to live happier lives. What connects a Greek philosopher with a cult following of prostitutes, a Roman civil servant who was unjustly executed, and a Persian scholar who traded books for mystic ecstasy? This trio - Epicurus (341-271 BC), Boethius (c. 480-524 AD) and Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali (1058-1111) - allowed their reflections about happiness to give meaning to their lives, and through such individuals and their ideas we can reclaim the lost art of happiness. Today, influenced by books on the "new science" of happiness and quick "self-help" panaceas, we have settled for a much weaker version of happiness than previous cultures: just enjoyment of pleasure and avoidance of pain and suffering. It is only through rediscovering the traditions that began in the West with the philosophers of Athens and in the East with anonymous Hindu sages that we can learn how to be genuinely happy again. During the journey through ideas philosophical and religious, from around the world and across thousands of years, Professor Schoch answers questions that are fundamental to our wellbeing but are rarely asked. What does it feel like to be happy, and can you be happy if others are unhappy? Is happiness an emotion, or an attitude? How much effort do you have to make to be happy, and do you have a right to be happy? The good life is easier to grasp when you know the answers.

Richard Schoch is Professor of the History of Culture at Queen Mary, University of London. His books include Queen Victoria and the Theatre of her Age, Not Shakespeare and Shakespeare's Victorian Stage. Prior to his academic life he wrote for NBC's flagship television station in New York.