Book Review: Global Happiness: A Guide to the Most Contented (and Discontented) Places Around the Globe

Abstract

As the sampling of epigrams above may attest, everyone from penmen and poets to park bench pundits have—and have voiced—opinions on the topic of happiness. And why not? Happiness concerns us all; it is a subject of universal import. That, in fact, appears to be the impetus for the author’s undertaking this project, as when he states that “We think that there is a need for a book such as this because there is indeed a wide public interest in knowing the best and the worst places, and because we think that the myriad rankings of countries, cities, and states that exist to this point measure something other than contentment with place” (xix). Cybriwsky goes on to opine that many of these happiness/satisfaction/grass is greener report cards are unfairly skewed toward rich and powerful nations, while ignoring the fact that joy may still be found in some of the most deplorable places on the planet. This, then, is the author’s attempt to rectify the situation.