FAMILYFANS Books & Comics

With those philosophic musings early in The Geography of Bliss, Eric Weiner begins a journey that will take him across the globe in search of those physical destinations that would be home to, well, happiness.

"We speak of searching for happiness," Weiner says, "of finding contentment, as if these were locations in an atlas, actual places that we could visit if only we had the proper map and the right navigational skills. Anyone who has taken a vacation to, say, some Caribbean island and had flash through their mind the uninvited thought, ‘I could be happy here’ knows what I mean."

As a foreign correspondent for National Public Radio, Weiner spent a decade traveling to just about everywhere. He worked out of such exotic places as New Delhi, India, Jerusalem, Israel, and Tokyo, Japan, as well as homegrown locations in the US like New York City, Miami, and Washington, DC. Still, after globetrotting for NPR and filing reports from over 30 countries, Weiner arrived at a realization that he’d spent a good portion of his life going to the earth’s unhappiest places (Afghanistan and Indonesia among them) to write what he calls "stories of gloomy, unhappy people."

So, he decided to spend one full year retracing his steps on the planet and visiting "not the world’s well-trodden trouble spots but, rather, its unheralded happy places." He began to wonder aloud about things like: "What if you lived in a country that was fabulously wealthy and no one paid taxes? … where failure is an option? … where excessive thinking is discouraged? … would you be happy then? That’s exactly what I intended to find out."

The Geography of Bliss, then, is Weiner’s memoir of that year spent traveling in his solitary pursuit of happiness. The result is an immensely readable tale of soul-searching among the pathways of far-flung destinations like Switzerland, Qatar, Iceland, Thailand, and more.

The stories Weiner tells from his admitted perspective as one of the "unhappy people" are what make this book so compelling. The fact that they are seasoned with the spices of some of the world’s most unique cultural and physical destinations only adds to the appeal.

Without spilling the secrets in this book, suffice it to say that his tour of Moldova with Marisha ("the happiest Moldovan I’ve met, possibly because she just married a British guy and can leave the country any time she wants") and her excitement over a new, American-style megamall, is genuinely entertaining. Also, Weiner’s search for a stiff drink in snowbound Reykjavík leads to plenty of curmudgeonly observations that we all wish we’d thought of, but, alas, we are likely too happy to have had those kinds of grumblings anyway. Although sprinkled with mild profanities and occasional alcohol, parents of mature teens (who can read without having to imitate!) may enjoy sharing this book--and talking about afterward--with their kids.

The Geography of Bliss released in early 2008 and immediately became a national bestseller. Take a brief foray into Weiner’s world, and you’ll quickly see why.

Now available in paperback, this one is highly recommended.