Scan barcode
megsmith1874's review against another edition
1.0
Absolutely hated this book. Was forced to read it for work. Author is arrogant, quotes famous psychological findings and has skewed interpretations of the findings, and is highly repetitive but contradicts himself constantly.
erika_is_reading's review against another edition
1.0
Common sense about happiness, packaged two ways ... the genre-usual style of presenting compelling case stories that are too perfect to be real and clearly either fictional or composites, plus claims about supporting scientific studies that lack citations. His credibility evaporated when he recommended homeopathic medicine. Not to mention the incessant prattling on about Canyon Ranch. This is essentially an infomercial for the ranch. All that said, the common sense itself is easily digestible, so perhaps it will do some good for some people.
marina_dal's review against another edition
4.0
This book is the perfect mixture of science, case studies, and actionable steps. It didn't hit my "life changing book" target in the same way that other books have, but in terms of a practical guide to achieving a happier mindset, I haven't read anything better than this book. It's also an easy read, so I would recommend it to anyone who is curious about why some people seem to be happy no matter what's going on in their lives.
zoes_human's review against another edition
0.5
The thing is that I am a happy person. I like me. I like my life. There are moments, but mostly life is good. So why the fuck am I reading this book to begin with since I know what happy people know? Someone listed is as a source for a statistic I called into question. The statistic turned out not be in here at all. And even if it had ... well, let's address that a bit further down the road, shall we?
On the one hand, there is some solid life advice in here for unhappy people. It is, indeed, chock-full of things I (and other happy people) know. He talks about the damage done when you give up your personal power, the harm of learned helplessness, the value of practicing appreciation, the importance of knowing who you are and what you value and living your life accordingly, the difference between being a victim and being a survivor, the difference between blaming yourself and taking responsibility for your actions, the psychological harm of overexposure to advertising, the relevance of good health to living joyfully, and many other things that absolutely true in my experience. So, if you are unhappy, there is some good stuff in here for you if you are open to it.
HOWEVER ...
This is one of the worst sourced pieces of nonfiction I've read in my entire life with the possible exception of Dianetics, which I didn't finish. The only reason I finished this was to try and find the statistic which wasn't in it. Though I doubt I would have trusted it if it had been there. There is at least one occasion where he states one of many hypotheses as though it were accepted scientific theory. He throws a massive amount of "statistics" out there with hard numbers yet doesn't list a source for them at all. A huge portion of "facts" are preceding by statements such as "it's widely estimated", "researchers have found", "a survey of college students showed", "was proven in a study", and "in one study." In one study? A study? A survey? Really? You can find one study to show anything. Who widely estimates? What percent of researchers have found? Furthermore, some of the sourced information is from organizations that have come under fire for using a thin veneer of science to mask a deeper core of pseudoscience. These sources, much like himself, serve to gain financial profit from convincing you that standard medicine is bunk but they know the real secret. Only a handful of his "facts" are cited properly. However, that only makes all the ones that aren't even more suspicious.
Last but not least, this book reads like an advertisement for himself and his life enhancement techniques. It also reads like he has a serious axe to grind with standard clinical psychology. Granted this field is not perfect, but the way he speaks of it comes across as very petty and very personal and not rooted in science. The first critical thinking question to ask of anything is "who benefits from this?" Quite clearly, he, his book career, and his integrative medicine consulting company stand to gain from this. As Dr. Baker himself points out, one should proactively guard themselves against overexposure to advertising.
So the final verdict? If you're really fucking miserable, give this book a whirl. There's some good advice in it. Take all the "facts" in it with a grain of salt though. If you're happy already, give it pass.
On the one hand, there is some solid life advice in here for unhappy people. It is, indeed, chock-full of things I (and other happy people) know. He talks about the damage done when you give up your personal power, the harm of learned helplessness, the value of practicing appreciation, the importance of knowing who you are and what you value and living your life accordingly, the difference between being a victim and being a survivor, the difference between blaming yourself and taking responsibility for your actions, the psychological harm of overexposure to advertising, the relevance of good health to living joyfully, and many other things that absolutely true in my experience. So, if you are unhappy, there is some good stuff in here for you if you are open to it.
HOWEVER ...
This is one of the worst sourced pieces of nonfiction I've read in my entire life with the possible exception of Dianetics, which I didn't finish. The only reason I finished this was to try and find the statistic which wasn't in it. Though I doubt I would have trusted it if it had been there. There is at least one occasion where he states one of many hypotheses as though it were accepted scientific theory. He throws a massive amount of "statistics" out there with hard numbers yet doesn't list a source for them at all. A huge portion of "facts" are preceding by statements such as "it's widely estimated", "researchers have found", "a survey of college students showed", "was proven in a study", and "in one study." In one study? A study? A survey? Really? You can find one study to show anything. Who widely estimates? What percent of researchers have found? Furthermore, some of the sourced information is from organizations that have come under fire for using a thin veneer of science to mask a deeper core of pseudoscience. These sources, much like himself, serve to gain financial profit from convincing you that standard medicine is bunk but they know the real secret. Only a handful of his "facts" are cited properly. However, that only makes all the ones that aren't even more suspicious.
Last but not least, this book reads like an advertisement for himself and his life enhancement techniques. It also reads like he has a serious axe to grind with standard clinical psychology. Granted this field is not perfect, but the way he speaks of it comes across as very petty and very personal and not rooted in science. The first critical thinking question to ask of anything is "who benefits from this?" Quite clearly, he, his book career, and his integrative medicine consulting company stand to gain from this. As Dr. Baker himself points out, one should proactively guard themselves against overexposure to advertising.
So the final verdict? If you're really fucking miserable, give this book a whirl. There's some good advice in it. Take all the "facts" in it with a grain of salt though. If you're happy already, give it pass.
icepulsar's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
j_m_alexander's review against another edition
3.0
Self-help type reading that is intellectually stimulating and largely commonsensical, but still enlightening for anyone that is willing to be honest with themselves and open enough to let go of their fears and actively work on happiness.
This is not 'preachy', nor too 'new-age(y)', nor filled with technical 'psycho-babble'. The book is written in a conversational way, and yet fairly formulaic. Essentially a premise is presented, expanded upon, and then a specific case/personal story allows the reader to see how the premise applies to real people. One premise builds upon the previous and thus a fairly complete theory/philosophy regarding happiness is constructed. I did not go into this book expecting to get too much out of it, but it really allows you to stop and think about basic realities that make a big difference in your day-to-day happiness. So much of our lives is spent reacting to fear or trudging along aimlessly, and this text provides a framework for rethinking the choices that we make everyday without really thinking at all. I think you can get as much out of this information as you're willing to and I'm sure I will revisit this book from time to time to remind myself not to fall into the same traps that I know I am prone to.
Thank you to my mother-in-law, a psychologist, that provided me with this book (among others over time). It is always nice to have someone that enjoys an exchange of ideas and information from a different perspective. Podcast and book sharing, and the subsequent discussions, have become a large part of our relationship and with each my appreciation for her grows.
This is not 'preachy', nor too 'new-age(y)', nor filled with technical 'psycho-babble'. The book is written in a conversational way, and yet fairly formulaic. Essentially a premise is presented, expanded upon, and then a specific case/personal story allows the reader to see how the premise applies to real people. One premise builds upon the previous and thus a fairly complete theory/philosophy regarding happiness is constructed. I did not go into this book expecting to get too much out of it, but it really allows you to stop and think about basic realities that make a big difference in your day-to-day happiness. So much of our lives is spent reacting to fear or trudging along aimlessly, and this text provides a framework for rethinking the choices that we make everyday without really thinking at all. I think you can get as much out of this information as you're willing to and I'm sure I will revisit this book from time to time to remind myself not to fall into the same traps that I know I am prone to.
Thank you to my mother-in-law, a psychologist, that provided me with this book (among others over time). It is always nice to have someone that enjoys an exchange of ideas and information from a different perspective. Podcast and book sharing, and the subsequent discussions, have become a large part of our relationship and with each my appreciation for her grows.
staceyluvsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
This book had some interesting perspectives on what happiness is all about. It caused me to really think. I enjoyed reading it and actually took away some useful information.
jesstherese's review against another edition
5.0
I first read this book in 2007 and found it really helpful. It's taken me until now - March 2010 - to get hold of another copy. I'm ready to give happiness another go.