Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom Paperback – Illustrated, 26 Dec. 2006

This was another audio book where I ended up buying the book as well. Both are great. The concept of the Elephant and rider is fantastic. Great book in both forms. Very highly recommended.

Offers practical insights and steps which can literally change your thought processes and help you achieve a greater appreciation of your life

An long and, at times, a turgid read but worth pursuing to the end. It has reinforced some of my thinking and has offered some avenues for further thought. The author has a high regard for the field of psychology, his own, and its importance as a "science". I'm afraid I tend to follow Feynman in what I've seen of the field.There's not much here your Granny couldn't tell you but she'd have to be a smart, articulate Granny and you'd have to be smart enough to listen to her. If you haven't got a Granny like that I'd recommend the book but don't expect to enjoy reading it.

Great book

Well worth reading: Jonathan helps the reader come to his / her own conclusions but there are some really useful messages.

Brilliant book, incredibly peaceful to listen to.

(I am keeping this personal) - Despite having an appeal towards psychological, developmental and scientific literature, I found this book to not be one which I would not (undoubtedly) recommend to anyone. I must confess that the nature of this book by Jonathan Haidt is quite too formal in some senses, and that it carries a bit of a tone - too academic for my liking. If your speciality/career is somewhat related to psychology and the processes of human thinking - this is the book for you. But if you are a reader seeking life-changing, never-seen-before content - this might not be your first pick. Regardless of these flaws, I would say that Haidt laid out some very though-provoking ideas within this work, for instance, constantly relating the idea of the id, ego and superego to the metaphor of 'the rider and the elephant' (as visible on the cover). This employment and applicability of Sigmund Freud's idea is quite interesting in some senses. What really I found striking (in the positive way) was his discussion of the "purpose of life" which can be seen within roughly the last third of the book. Overall, a good book which may not be necessarily ideal for leisure/relaxing reading. 3/5 for me. :)

A great read and really thought provoking.