The Geography of Bliss

“What if, I wondered, I spent a year traveling the globe, seeking out not the world’s well-trodden trouble spots but, rather, its unheralded happy places?” 

Weiner discusses his decision to travel in search of bliss. After visiting numerous war-torn countries as a radio correspondent, he realizes that happier places are written about less, as it’s generally conflict, and not lack thereof, that is discussed in media.

“Happiness researchers are quick to defend their work.”

Happiness science is a recent field. It remains controversial. Conventional social scientists have criticized it, but Weiner bases much of his argument on this research, and uses data from different happiness researchers throughout the book.

“So assuming that these happiness studies are reasonably accurate, what have they found? Who is happy? And how do I join them?” 

Weiner visits a Dutch scientist who researches happiness. In recent decades, researchers have shifted from studying negative to positive emotions. Weiner looks at the data and draws a bliss atlas for himself based partially on the findings of the Dutch researcher.