The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World

Fiji, Tahiti, the Bahamas—they all fall into the middle latitudes of happiness. Happy countries tend to be those in temperate climates, and some of the happiest—Iceland, for instance—are downright cold.

We want to achieve our happiness and not just experience it. Perhaps we even want to experience unhappiness, or at least leave open the possibility of unhappiness, in order to truly appreciate happiness.

“The intention that Man should be happy is not in the plan of Creation.”

“A lifetime of happiness! No man could bear it: It would be hell on Earth,”

mai pen lai on my lips.

They have succeeded, but I wonder at what cost. In their world, happiness is reduced to yet another statistic, data to be sliced, diced, parsed, run through the computer, and, ultimately, inevitably, reduced to spreadsheets. And I can’t think of anything less happy than a spreadsheet.

Money matters, but less than we think and not in the way that we think. Family is important. So are friends. Envy is toxic. So is excessive thinking. Beaches are optional. Trust is not. Neither is gratitude.

Many of the world’s happiest countries also have high suicide rates.

People who attend religious services report being happier than those who do not, but the world’s happiest nations are secular.