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The Happy Brain: The Science of Where Happiness Comes From, and Why Paperback – 3 May 2018

by Dean Burnett (Author)

305 ratings

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Do you want to be happy?

If so – read on. This book has all the answers.*

In The Happy Brain, neuroscientist Dean Burnett delves deep into the inner workings of our minds to explore some fundamental questions about happiness. For starters: what does it actually mean to be happy? Where does it come from? And is there a secret to making it last forever?

In his research into these questions – and many more besides – Burnett unravels our complex internal lives to reveal the often surprising truth behind what makes us tick. From whether happiness really begins at home (spoiler alert: yes – sort of) to what love, sex, friendship, wealth, laughter and success actually do to our brains, this book offers a uniquely entertaining insight into what it means to be human.

* Not really. Sorry. But it does have some very interesting questions, and at least the occasional answer.

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Review

‘The good news, according to Dean Burnett’s fascinating new book, is that on the whole our brains want us to be happy. The bad news is that they often go about it in a rather clumsy way.’ (Daily Mail)

‘Pop psychology at its finest.’ (Stylist)

’The Burnett method is to combine a chatty style with hundreds of academic endnotes, interviews with “experts” (including Charlotte Church on fame and Rhod Gilbert on comedy) and personal anecdotes, and on the whole it is very effective...you should read this funny, stimulating and rewarding book. You’ll be happy you did.’ (Katy Guest Guardian)

Book Description

Neuroscientist Dean Burnett, author of the acclaimed The Idiot Brain, investigates the Science of Happiness. Or whether such a thing even exists.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Guardian Faber Publishing
Publication date ‏ : ‎ 3 May 2018
Edition ‏ : ‎ Main
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1783351292
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1783351299
Item weight ‏ : ‎ 389 g
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.5 x 2.4 x 21.6 cm
Best Sellers Rank: 220,758 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 74 in The Human Brain
- 75 in Neuroscience Biology
- 1,364 in Higher Education of Biological Sciences
Customer reviews:
305 ratings

About the author

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Dean Burnett

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Dr Dean Burnett is a PhD Neuroscientists, experienced tutor and lecturer, regular blogger/contributor for the Guardian and other mainstream publications, and now international bestselling author following his debut book The Idiot Brain ('Idiot Brain' in the US).

The genesis of Idiot Brain is unusual in that Dean Burnett hadn't actually planned to write a book but was offered the opportunity following his highly-popular blogging efforts. When he expressed reluctance at writing a book about the brain because "all brain books treat it with such reverence, but I think it's a bit rubbish", his publishers suggested he write a book about why he thought that, and that were Idiot Brain first began.

Expecting it to be a flash in the pan that people would just nod at before getting on with their lives, Dean had no plans or expectations regarding the writing of a second book, but Idiot Brain's success meant one was soon expected. In a panic, Dean asked all his colleagues/friends/fellow writers/passing strangers what they thought would be a good subject for a second book. Everyone provided different ideas, but one common refrain was 'You just need to write about whatever makes you happy". Being an intensely literal sort, he decided he would indeed write about the neurobiological mechanisms that make us happy.

And that's how Happy Brain was created.

Dean Burnett has appeared on NPR's Fresh Air, CBC's The Current, Ireland's NewsTalk and countless platforms and publications in the UK. The TV rights for Idiot Brain were purchased by Whoopi Goldberg's 'One Ho' productions.

He is currently a Research Associate (Honorary) at Cardiff University Psychology School, and lives in Cardiff with his wife, two children, and alarmingly psychopathic kitten Pickle.

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Customer reviews

305 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book informative and entertaining, describing it as a great follow-up to "The Idiot Brain." Moreover, they appreciate its accessibility and humor, with one customer noting how it makes complex neuroscience principles easy to understand. Additionally, the writing style receives positive feedback, with one customer describing it as engaging.

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Information quality Readability Humor Happiness Accessibility Writing style

7 customers mention ‘Information quality’6 positive1 negative

Customers find the book informative and well-written, with one customer noting that the dry scientific facts are presented in an engaging manner.

"...book have recommended it to several people - amusing writing but science based and free of woo!" Read more

"Effective self-help book on how to achieve happiness through neuroscience principles. I am pleased with my purchase and would buy again." Read more

"The Happy Brain is quite remarkable and a superb follow-up to The Idiot Brain, Dean Burnett seems to be able to read your mind and put your thoughts..." Read more

"Devilishly funny, optimistic and still insightful, Burnett has avoided the difficult second album syndrome with a brilliant follow up that doesn't..." Read more

7 customers mention ‘Readability’7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book interesting and entertaining to read.

"Great read, very entertaining!" Read more

"Dean Burnett is amazing ! Really interesting and entertaining book." Read more

"Fascinating, funny book. Hope Dean Burnett writes another!" Read more

"...with a brilliant follow up that doesn't retread old ground and is entertaining and informative in equal measure. A fantastic read" Read more

6 customers mention ‘Humor’5 positive1 negative

Customers find the book devilishly funny.

"Fascinating, funny book. Hope Dean Burnett writes another!" Read more

"Devilishly funny, optimistic and still insightful, Burnett has avoided the difficult second album syndrome with a brilliant follow up that doesn't..." Read more

"You must read its a great book written in funny and simple language a must read" Read more

"...layman’s terms making understanding how the brain works easy, full of bits of Humour aswell in a Bill Bryson style" Read more

5 customers mention ‘Happiness’5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's approach to happiness positive, with one customer highlighting its outstanding exploration of brain and emotions, while another appreciates how it makes neuroscience principles easy to understand.

"The Happy Brain is quite remarkable and a superb follow-up to The Idiot Brain, Dean Burnett seems to be able to read your mind and put your thoughts..." Read more

"...book by this Author, written in layman’s terms making understanding how the brain works easy, full of bits of Humour aswell in a Bill Bryson style" Read more

"An outstanding exploration on the brain and emotions - specifically happiness of course, and which is delivered in the most light-hearted and..." Read more

"Effective self-help book on how to achieve happiness through neuroscience principles. I am pleased with my purchase and would buy again." Read more

4 customers mention ‘Accessibility’3 positive1 negative

Customers find the book excellent and accessible.

"...of course, and which is delivered in the most light-hearted and accessible manner. get it, read it, I promise you won't be disappointed...." Read more

"Easy to read and sounds plausible, but the science is questionable." Read more

"Accessible to non-scientists..." Read more

"Excellent accessible science..." Read more

3 customers mention ‘Writing style’3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book.

"Another brilliantly written book by this Author, written in layman’s terms making understanding how the brain works easy, full of bits of Humour..." Read more

"...It is written in such an engaging way that even the dry scientific facts don’t read dry thanks to the author...." Read more

"Great book have recommended it to several people - amusing writing but science based and free of woo!" Read more

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ea
In search for happiness
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 August 2019
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This is an excellent book explaining the happiness and how it may be found but cannot be kept forever. It is written in such an engaging way that even the dry scientific facts don’t read dry thanks to the author. A great follow up on the Idiot Brain of the same author. It does make you happy to read this book until you identify another one to read as you finish it.

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4 people found this helpful

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N. Parish
Brilliant!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 December 2021
Verified Purchase
The Happy Brain is quite remarkable and a superb follow-up to The Idiot Brain, Dean Burnett seems to be able to read your mind and put your thoughts and actions on paper - seriously good books!

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One person found this helpful

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Brian Clegg
Get inside your happy head...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 May 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
This book was sitting on my desk for some time, and every time I saw it, I read the title as 'The Happy Brian'. The pleasure this gave me was one aspect of the science of happiness that Dean Burnett does not cover in this engaging book.

Burnett's writing style is breezy and sometimes (particularly in footnotes) verging on the whimsical. His approach works best in the parts of the narrative where he is interviewing everyone from Charlotte Church to a stand-up comedian and various professors on aspects of happiness. We get to see the relevance of home and familiarity, other people, love (and sex), humour and more, always tying the observations back to the brain.

In a way, Burnett sets himself up to fail, pointing out fairly early on that everything is far too complex in the brain to really pin down the causes of something as diffuse as happiness. He starts off with the idea of cheekily trying to get time on an MRI scanner to study what his own brain does when he's happy, but an MRI expert, Chris Chambers, points out how this would be a waste of an intensively used resource, given it's very difficult to pin down 'happiness' in any quantitative fashion and MRI does not produce the simplistic 'this bit of the brain does that' outcomes that you might think from some popular science.

This doesn't stop Burnett from repeatedly bringing in what bits of the brain (and neurotransmitters) are involved in various situations which makes for a weaker aspect of the book as (if you're not a biologist) the repeated naming of assorted brain parts which mostly produce no mental image doesn't do a lot for the reader.

Burnett's matey style also seems to bump up a little against some of the physical and mathematical aspects of the science. At one point he says 'Chemicals are made of atoms, which are in turn made of electrons, protons and neutrons, which are in turn made of gluons.' Unfortunately electrons have nothing to do with gluons, while to say protons and neutrons are made of gluons is like saying houses are made of mortar. The mathematical aspect that was most worrying was the statement 'There's compelling evidence to suggest that happier employees are up to 37 per cent more productive... Conversely, unhappy employees can be 10 per cent less productive.' Leaving aside whether compelling evidence should do more than just suggest, one has to ask '37 per cent more productive than what?' Clearly not than unhappy employees, or the second part doesn't make sense.

At the start of the book, Burnett makes in plain that this isn't going to be a self-help happiness book. And it might seem that there's not much left to do scientifically when everything seems so uncertain about exactly what does what in the brain. However, in practice the book is an enjoyable read, giving plenty of intriguing information. I particularly enjoyed the interviews, and, oddly enough, the chapter on 'The Dark Side of Happiness' - why we sometimes enjoy making other people unhappy. This was truly fascinating. Despite the limitations of our knowledge of the brain's functions, there's a lot of science lurking in here as well as well-informed speculation and I'm happy to say that it makes for a very enjoyable whole.

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5 people found this helpful

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Mr. Se Robinson
Great interesting book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 January 2020
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
Another brilliantly written book by this Author, written in layman’s terms making understanding how the brain works easy, full of bits of Humour aswell in a Bill Bryson style

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3 people found this helpful

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Joolz
Accessible to non-scientists
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 June 2021
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Easy to read and sounds plausible, but the science is questionable.

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One person found this helpful

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Ryan Sandrey
Entertaining and Informative
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 May 2018
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
Devilishly funny, optimistic and still insightful, Burnett has avoided the difficult second album syndrome with a brilliant follow up that doesn't retread old ground and is entertaining and informative in equal measure. A fantastic read

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10 people found this helpful

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ray etheridge
Complicated subject made humorous
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 December 2020
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
Great read, very entertaining!

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Jennyinneverland
Informative and funny!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 May 2018
Format: Paperback
I’ve never been one to read a lot of non-fiction but it’s certainly a genre I’m getting into more and more lately. I’m just finding the vastness of it exceptionally appealing; there’s so many different, interesting things I could learn and read about. So much knowledge from other people to consume and so many incredible stories that deserve to be read.

As an ex-psychology student, this book really appealed to me. I didn’t get too far in my psychology studies – having only done it for A Level but I’ve taken a couple of extra courses since for no other reason than I just find it extremely interesting. And speaking of school, I think The Happy Brain would be an excellent addition to the school syllabus. I felt like I was back in school as I was reading it – and that’s not a bad thing, I loved school and I’m a bit of a Hermione Granger.

The Happy Brain is written by Dean Burnett, a fantastically funny and witty neuroscientist who has researched extensivly into happiness. What makes us happy? Where does happiness come from? How can we be happy? All those super duper important questions. He takes different aspects of life from work, friendships, love, sex and where we live and goes in depth about why these make us happy – or not! And why nothing, not a single damn thing, is simple within the human brain. Because above all else that’s the main thing I’ve learnt from reading this book. We are freaking complicated!

I absolutely loved this book right from the introduction. Like I said, Dean is very funny. This isn’t like a text-book read with fact after fact after fact. Statistic after statistic. Boring after boring. Dean very much puts himself into this book, includes personal stories and anecdotes and opinions and makes learning about it fun. And not just for your Hermione’s in this world. He includes all the facts and the figures, yes, but they’re not too complicated and the author almost always backs up his examples with “real life” examples, to make it more clearer to the non-scientifically minded reader. So thanks for that.

The Happy Brain is totally engaging; it doesn’t read like a textbook nor is it a self-help book. It really isn’t a self-help book. And I also loved that. Dean isn’t telling us we need to do X, Y or Z in order to be happy. He’s explaining the science behind our potential happiness and then leaving it up to us to do as we wish with that information. Although it certainly didn’t help as a self-help book would (might) help, it definitely taught me a lot, made me more informed and aware and re-ignited my wonder and desire to learn about the mind.

Reading this book has actually urged me to hop onto Coursera and sign up for a few psychology-based courses. Which hopefully, make me happy. So Dean, you’ve done your job right! A really fascinating read for anyone who feels like they need an alternative to the “self help” book.

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2 people found this helpful

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LinNes
Great book
Reviewed in Canada on 27 December 2018
Verified Purchase

Easy to read and understand findings in neuroscience and psychology.

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Gdavila911
My brain was happy while reading this book.
Reviewed in the United States on 7 January 2022
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This book is a good start if you are interested in the process of being happy. A lot of good and well documented examples of how different events and circumstances can make us happy or sad.

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Javier
Nunca segundas partes fueron buenas / Sequels are never good
Reviewed in Spain on 24 March 2020
Verified Purchase
Había leído el primer libro de este autor (El cerebro idiota) y me encantó. Compré este y es una absoluta decepción, lo abandoné al 25%, dice que nla felicidad no se relaciona con ningún área concreta del cerebro, parece un libro de divulgación psicologica, nada con datos neurológcos

I had read this author's first book (The Idiot Brain) and loved it. I bought this one and it is an absolute disappointment, I abandoned it at 25%, he says that happiness is not related to any specific area of the brain, it seems a book of psychological disclosure, nothing with neurological data

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Ashwani Bhan
Excellent Read
Reviewed in India on 12 June 2021
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
A very detailed and research based book on how to keep a happy brain.I hope the author will find time to write a book on how to remain happy inspite of mental health issues in the future.

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Anthony
Second book
Reviewed in Canada on 23 November 2020
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It's not bad. Not as good as idiot brain though. I feel like this one just isn't as engaging or interesting.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Great book

5.0 out of 5 stars My brain was happy while reading this book.

1.0 out of 5 stars Nunca segundas partes fueron buenas / Sequels are never good

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read

4.0 out of 5 stars Second book

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Great book

My brain was happy while reading this book.

Nunca segundas partes fueron buenas / Sequels are never good

Excellent Read

Second book