Eric Weiner, a travel correspondent, decides to go on a mission to discover some of the happiest places in the world, spending time with each nation's residents in order to find out what makes a person, or a nation, happy. Is it geography? Wealth? Climate? Government? Family? Friends? Something else?

I've had this audio on my TBR shelf for about 15 years now, after picking it up at a book warehouse sale. The title seemed appealing. Who wouldn't be curious as to where the happiest place(s) in the world might be? After all, maybe I'd like to be sure to visit there someday. Weiner starts out in the Netherlands, home of the World Database of Happiness, which gives him some statistics and a baseline plan for travel. From there he visits a series of some of the supposed happiest places on earth, as well as one not-so-happy place. I'll have to admit that his itinerary was not exactly what I would've expected, including visits to Switzerland, Bhutan, Qatar, Iceland, Moldova, Thailand, Great Britain, India, and then concluding back home in the U.S. (Can you guess which of those was the not-so-happy place?) While I'm not sure I came away with any hard take-aways after reading this, I found it enjoyable enough and there was adequate light humor throughout that kept me engaged. I think happiness is something that's hard to objectify and is going to vary largely on who you talk to and when you talk to them. But still, an enjoyable enough travelogue. ( )

I so enjoyed reading this book that I slowed in my reading of it so I could savor it and make it last longer - I guess it made me happy?.?.
Now I'm going back through the book to all the sticky notes I placed to read further on various topics, including more by this author - I appreciate his candidness and humor and look forward to reading more. ( )

Interesting account of different places and how they view happiness. ( )

Catapulted into action by his own depression, the author researched the happiest places in the world (circa 2007), or places that had distinct beliefs about happiness, and went. Starting with a happiness expert in The Netherlands, Weiner visited Switzerland, Bhutan, Quatar, Iceland, Thailand, Great Britain, India and came back to America. He also spent two weeks in Moldova, the country rated lowest in the happiness index. By meeting the average people, professionals in mental health, spirituality, a psychic, and some government officials, he was able to give the reader a general semblance of what life is like in that country and what makes that particular nationality happy. ( )

Sometimes witty and amusing, sometimes serious, a delicious travelogue of sorts, this book confirms what you should have known all along: money won't buy you happiness, not even close. Poverty doesn't do it either. Actually, there is no real answer, but some tantalizing ideas from all corners of the globe. ( )