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Title details for The Happy Life by David Malouf - Available

The Happy Life

by David Malouf
ebook
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By Australia’s greatest contemporary author, an elegant, succinct meditation on what makes for a happy life. ;-)

“Happiness surely is among the simplest of human emotions and the most spontaneous,” says David Malouf. But what exactly are we looking for when we chase happiness? At this particular moment in history, privileged, industrialized nations have lessened much of what makes us unhappy: widespread poverty, illness, famine. Yet we are still unfulfilled, turning increasingly to yoga, church, Match.com, drugs, clinical therapy and retail therapy. What is at the root of our collective stress, and how can we find our way to contentment?
 
Drawing on mythology, philosophy, art and literature, Malouf traces our conception of happiness throughout history, distilling centuries of thought into a lucid narrative. He discusses the creation myths of ancient Greece and the philosophical schools of Athens, analyzes Thomas Jefferson’s revolutionary declaration that “the pursuit of happiness” is a right, explores the celebration of sensual delight in Rembrandt and Rubens and offers a perceptive take on a modern society growing larger and more impersonal.
 
With wisdom and insight, Malouf investigates that simplest, most spontaneous of feelings and urges us to do the same.

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Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Kindle Book

  • Release date: January 8, 2013

OverDrive Read

  • ISBN: 9780307907820
  • Release date: January 8, 2013

EPUB ebook

  • ISBN: 9780307907820
  • File size: 2103 KB
  • Release date: January 8, 2013
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Formats

Kindle Book
OverDrive Read
EPUB ebook

subjects

Philosophy Psychology Nonfiction

Languages

English

By Australia’s greatest contemporary author, an elegant, succinct meditation on what makes for a happy life. ;-)

“Happiness surely is among the simplest of human emotions and the most spontaneous,” says David Malouf. But what exactly are we looking for when we chase happiness? At this particular moment in history, privileged, industrialized nations have lessened much of what makes us unhappy: widespread poverty, illness, famine. Yet we are still unfulfilled, turning increasingly to yoga, church, Match.com, drugs, clinical therapy and retail therapy. What is at the root of our collective stress, and how can we find our way to contentment?
 
Drawing on mythology, philosophy, art and literature, Malouf traces our conception of happiness throughout history, distilling centuries of thought into a lucid narrative. He discusses the creation myths of ancient Greece and the philosophical schools of Athens, analyzes Thomas Jefferson’s revolutionary declaration that “the pursuit of happiness” is a right, explores the celebration of sensual delight in Rembrandt and Rubens and offers a perceptive take on a modern society growing larger and more impersonal.
 
With wisdom and insight, Malouf investigates that simplest, most spontaneous of feelings and urges us to do the same.

Expand title description text
Philosophy Psychology Nonfiction