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trees75's review against another edition
2.0
While I loved the review of his research, the flow of this book was awkward and could have used better editing to draw the concepts together. Their were parts of the book that felt overly-defensive about the results of his research. You can respond to critics of your research without sinking to pettiness. Part 1 gave a great history on positive psychology - but I should have stopped reading there.
ddejong's review against another edition
2.0
[Read for Managerial Psychology] Some very interesting and valuable concepts but the organization of the book was kind of obnoxious. Seligman spends so much time explaining very specific implementations of very specific programs he has come up with, which I was pretty bored with. I would have liked more on the theory and ideas with broader application. Nevertheless, some very helpful and thought-provoking stuff. The 2 stars is mainly for execution.
slearmonth's review against another edition
2.0
This book seems like a missed opportunity. While there are some interesting and important ideas presented, it's quite disorganized, meandering and repetitive. I loved Learned Optimism - some of the ideas in that changed my life, but this one seems like Seligman wasn't sure what he was writing. Is it a self help book or a personal memoir? It fails at both IMO.
statman's review against another edition
4.0
This is an interesting book that makes you think. It challenges some of the basic assumptions that we have about how to be happy and talks about positive psychology as a means to have more happiness. The author is a psychologist and shares the research that he and others have done to answer this question. I was struck by how much of this overlaps with the gospel of Jesus Christ - Seligman mentions things like having positive relationships, showing gratitude, showing kindness to others, having a sense of purpose and meaning as things that correlate with more happiness and a greater sense of well-being. He argues that it is not money that brings happiness - it will up to a point once basic necessities of life are met but happiness flattens out as income increases beyond that initial point. The middle part of the book got less interesting as he details the work that he had done with soldiers and others to help them become more resilient and happier.
jmatkinson1's review against another edition
5.0
The psychology of happiness and positivity is a growth industry in the current climate. Seligman was one of the first to explore the idea of using psychology to promote well-being and this book is the distillation of his work over a number of years. Working in a school I try to incorporate many of the ideas that Seligman explores in terms of attempting to give students a positive education which enables them to develop soft skills as well as academic skills.
Positive Psychology is the cure to all ills but it helps frame a mindset that has proven benefits in terms of reduced stress and better health. there are many who will view this as mumbo-jumbo, and indeed the book shows a few dissenters as well, but I think this is powerful thought.
Positive Psychology is the cure to all ills but it helps frame a mindset that has proven benefits in terms of reduced stress and better health. there are many who will view this as mumbo-jumbo, and indeed the book shows a few dissenters as well, but I think this is powerful thought.