THE SECRETS OF HAPPINESS --- THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF SEARCHING FOR THE GOOD LIFE by Richard Schoch. Scribner, 2006
BOOK'S OUTLINE
    INTRODUCTION (p1-22)

    PART 1) LIVING FOR PLEASURE (p23-66)

      1) The greatest happiness --- the Utilitarians (p25-45)

      2) Pleasure is good --- the Epicureans (p46-68)

    PART 2) CONQUERING DESIRE (p67-114

      3) Get busy with your works --- Hinduism (p69-92)

      4) The "Enlightened One" --- Buddhism (p93-114)

    PART 3) TRANSCENDING REASON (p115-

      5) Only in heaven --- Christianity (p117-140)

      6) The alchemy of happiness --- Islam (p141-165)

    PART 4) ENDURING SUFFERING (p167-208)

      7) It's all in your mind --- the Stoics (p169-191)

      8) The hidden face of God --- Judaism (p192-208)

    CONCLUSION (p209-213)

    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (p215-216)

    NOTES (p217-221)

    BIBLIOGRAPHY (p223-231)

    INDEX (p233-243)

    ABOUT THE AUTHOR (p245)
BOOK'S REVIEWS

    Is the new "science of happiness" resulting in further dissatisfaction with life? New Age teachers would offer up happiness as a consumer right, but the book, The Secrets of Happiness, by Richard Schoch shows that it isn't that easy. He contends that genuine happiness must be found from within yourself. Philosophy and religion tend to blend in this survey of historic classic writings, which considers how happiness is conceived, pursued, and misconstrued. The book is an insightful, informed, thoughtful and thought-provoking self-help book that can be recommended especially to any non-specialist general readers who seek simple happiness in an ever increasingly complicated world. Diane C. Donovan (from California Bookwatch)

    Adding to the burgeoning number of books about defining and seeking happiness, cultural historian Schoch looks to the work of philosophers and religious seekers of the past. The essence of happiness, Schoch believes, is not simply feeling good—a state some today consider an entitlement. Rather, it lies in one's quest to create a better world. First highlighting the Greek philosopher Epicurus, the Roman Stoic Seneca and medieval Islamic scholar Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Schoch explains that although these three thinkers had very different experiences, they were united in their search for a more fulfilling life under sometimes adverse conditions. Schoch then explores the ideas found in eight sacred and secular traditions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Epicureanism. Epicureans, for example, sought pleasure, but only after conquering their fear of death. Judaism, the author says, wrestles with the question of human suffering by emphasizing the importance of enduring it honorably. Buddhists struggle to free themselves from the ego to attain detachment, right actions and enlightenment. Schoch writes in an informed, lively style and his nonjudgmental stance will appeal to many who seek not easy self-help but to wrestle with issues of meaning and values. (November 2006) From Publishers Weekly Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

    More than 2,000 years ago, the Greeks considered happiness a civic virtue. Things have changed--a lot--during the intervening years. Nowadays, most people consider happiness a birthright and, as a result, Schoch maintains, have denied themselves the chance to discover meaningful happiness. Schoch encourages rejecting the "modern enfeeblement of happiness" and returning to ancient traditions of happiness. Which won't be easy, since modern happiness is big business. Self-help books earn $1 billion annually, Schoch says, and antidepressants a mind-boggling $17 billion. But not all happiness is the same, which is why Schoch refers to the secrets of happiness ("a different one for each person"). Just as each person is unique, so is each person's sense of happiness. Schoch insightfully discusses various happiness traditions throughout the world, including those of Unitarianism, Epicureanism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Stoicism, and Judaism, examining their philosophical and religious roots and suggesting ways in which they may be applied to busy, modern lives. June Sawyers (From Booklist) Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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