The Secrets of Happiness: Three Thousand Years of Searching for the Good Life

Unhappy is the story of happiness. More than two thousand years ago, when the ancient Greeks first pondered what constitutes "the good life," happiness was considered a civic virtue that demanded a lifetime's cultivation. Not just mere enjoyment of pleasure and mere avoidance of suffering, true happiness was an achievement, not a birthright. Now, in an age of instant gratification and infinite distraction, history professor Richard Schoch takes a refreshingly contemplative look at a question that's as vital today as ever: What does it mean to be happy? Schoch consults some of history's greatest thinkers -- from Aristotle to Thomas Aquinas to Buddha -- in his quest to understand happiness in all its hard-won forms. Packed with three thousand years' worth of insights, many long forgotten, The Secrets of Happiness is a breath of ancient wisdom for anyone who yearns for the good life.

• The Death of Ivan Ilych
• The Happiness Project, Tenth Anniversary Edition: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun
• The Little Seagull Handbook (Third Edition)
• L. N. Tolstoy - The Death of Ivan Ilych
• The Buddha Walks into a Bar . . .: A Guide to Life for a New Generation
• 50 Spiritual Classics Second Edition: Your shortcut to the most important ideas on self-discovery, enlightenment, and purpose (50 Classics)
• They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (Fourth Edition)
• The Death of Ivan Ilych
• Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment