The Science of Happiness

how our brains make us happy and what we can do to get happier
Stefan Klein

‘“When you’ve finished reading this book, the inside of your head will look different,” promises Klein. And he’s right.’

Der Spiegel

‘Klein explains in a thrilling and illustrative way the complex biochemical basics of what we experience as delight, desire, love, lust and friendship on the surface of our organisms.’

Die Welt

View all reviews

‘Thrilling and entertaining.’

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

‘Apart from plausible strategies, the author provides the reader with insights into happy brains and genes, into friendship, children and the question, what orgasms are really good for.’

Max

‘Thrilling and entertaining. Stefan Klein convinces with his profound knowledge.’

Bert Sakmann, Nobel Prize Winner in Medicine, Max Planck Institute

‘It is an extremely well-written, easy-to-read and expertly researched book on a theme which has long been begging for pop-science treatment. The author is one of Germany’s leading popular science writers and enjoys a very high reputation throughout Europe.’

Alison Abbott, Nature Magazine

‘Mr. Klein has thoroughly researched his subject, and he writes with clarity, ease and humor about the complexities of psychology and neuroscience. I do not know of any other authors who take such a well-grounded scientific approach to the universal — but seemingly elusive — question of what makes us happy.’

Gretchen Vogel, Science magazine

'Must read.'

Lucy Clark, Sunday Telegraph

' ... a very optimistic work.'

Steven Carroll, The Age

The Science of Happiness 'makes a compelling case about the way our brains work that will impress or unsettle, depending on a reader's attitudes to life (or basic brain chemistry) ... For people who have assumed that we have no option but to play the hand our genes deal us, Klein's summary of the science can be liberating. However, even though he explains how neuroscience can provide us with strategies to push ourselves towards happiness, without expecting assistance from God or psychiatry, the point of the book is that it is still up to us, however the chemicals in our brain bless or curse us.'

Stephen Matchett, The Australian

'Klein, in a thrilling and entertaining exploration, discusses how happiness is generated in the brain and the complicated relationships between income, social conditions and satisfaction ... A brilliantly enlightening book, The Science of Happiness is, on balance, a self-help book that is assured to increase its readers’ happiness. "The most important task in the search for happiness is to know yourself," because everyone discovers their own answer. There are six billion people on earth, and there are six billion paths to happiness, The Science of Happiness provides a map.'

Steve Davenport, The Program

‘Stefan Klein is convinced that happiness is different from fortune or chance. In his new book The Science of Happiness he sums up the insights into the subject. His newest scientific conclusion: “Happiness can be learned — if you know the rules by which it plays with us. ”’

Cosmopolitan

The international bestseller. An enthralling exploration of the science of happiness.

We all know what it feels like to be happy, but what mechanisms inside our brains trigger such a positive emotion? What does it really mean to be happy, and why can’t we feel that way all of the time? Psychologists and neuroscientists have been studying negative emotions for decades, but until recently few have focused on the subject of happiness.

Now, in The Science of Happiness, leading science journalist Stefan Klein ranges widely across the latest frontiers of neuroscience and psychology to explain how happiness is generated in our brains, what biological purpose it serves, and the conditions required to foster the ‘pursuit of happiness’. A remarkable synthesis of a growing body of research that has not been brought together before, The Science of Happiness is, ultimately, a book that helps us understand our own quest for happiness — and is certain to help make you happier.

‘“When you’ve finished reading this book, the inside of your head will look different,” promises Klein. And he’s right.’

Der Spiegel

‘Klein explains in a thrilling and illustrative way the complex biochemical basics of what we experience as delight, desire, love, lust and friendship on the surface of our organisms.’

Die Welt

View all reviews

‘Thrilling and entertaining.’

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

‘Apart from plausible strategies, the author provides the reader with insights into happy brains and genes, into friendship, children and the question, what orgasms are really good for.’

Max

‘Thrilling and entertaining. Stefan Klein convinces with his profound knowledge.’

Bert Sakmann, Nobel Prize Winner in Medicine, Max Planck Institute

Alison Abbott, Nature Magazine

Gretchen Vogel, Science magazine

'Must read.'

Lucy Clark, Sunday Telegraph

' ... a very optimistic work.'

Steven Carroll, The Age

Stephen Matchett, The Australian

Steve Davenport, The Program

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Details

Format:Paperback

Size: 210mm × 135mm

Extent:320pp

ISBN (13):9781921215148

RRP:$30.00

Pub date:20 Nov 2006

Rights Held: UK & Commonwealth

Rights Sold: India (Speaking Tiger)

High-res cover:Download Image

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AUTHOR

Stefan Klein

Stefan Klein, born in 1965, is Germany’s most successful science author and is recognised as one of Europe’s most influential science writers and journalists. After studying physics and analytical philosophy in Munich, Grenoble, and Freiburg, he turned to writing because he ‘wanted to inspire people for a reality that is more exciting than any crime thriller’. His books, which have been translated into more than 25 languages, include the #1 international bestseller The Science of Happiness, The Secret Pulse of Time, Leonardo’s Legacy, and We Are All Stardust. He lives and works as a freelance writer in Berlin.