Review of The Pursuit of Happiness

[Mrunal Tikekar]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Pursuit of Happiness" by Paul Lucas Scott.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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Happiness is a complex subject often debated by philosophers and psychologists. Despite the enormous research on the topic, happiness remains elusive. It is incredibly challenging to experience pure happiness in today’s modern world. Job pressures, responsibilities, and obligations, all leave us feeling stressed and anxious. The Pursuit of Happiness by Paul Lucas Scott aims to explain the concept of true happiness. Scott provides practical ways to cultivate joy and a sense of contentment.

The book is short and simple. I cannot say the content is unique. The concepts and overall discussion are arguably generic. The author has written in an academic style but the research is pretty shallow. There are few references to different researches but they are common knowledge now.

I thought that certain themes were repeated a lot in the book. For example, the fact that ‘happiness is not a one size fits all’ content is repeated several times. Similarly, the advice on expressing gratitude runs almost in every section of the book.

I was neither too excited nor too disappointed with the book. While there was nothing new to learn, I did not mind reminding myself of ways to find happiness. One aspect that I did not like was that there were no case studies in the book. The author had mentioned that stories of influential people and happy nations would be explored, but these stories were wrapped in a couple of sentences. There was nothing enjoyable or educational about this content. On a positive note, the book is professionally edited. There are no grammatical errors.

Given the above considerations, I would rate the book 3 out of 5 stars.

I recommend this book to readers who have not read many books on the topic of happiness. Readers who have previously read books about ways to stay happy will not find anything new in this book. The book makes for a good, light read when nothing is exciting on the to-read list.

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The Pursuit of Happiness
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