false 1298834 1 Americans are addicted to happiness. When we're not popping pills, we leaf through scientific studies that take for granted our quest for happiness, or read self-help books by everyone from armchair philosophers and clinical psychologists to the Dalai Lama on how to achieve a trouble-free life: <i>Stumbling </i><i>on Happiness</i>; <i>Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive </i><i>Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment</i>; <i>The </i><i>Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living. </i>The titles themselves draw a stark portrait of the war on melancholy. More than any other generation, Americans of today believe in the transformative power of positive thinking. But who says we're <i>supposed </i>to be happy? Where does it say that in the Bible, or in the Constitution? In <i>Against Happiness</i>, the scholar Eric G. Wilson argues that melancholia is necessary to any thriving culture, that it is the muse of great literature, painting, music, and innovation&#8212;and that it is the force underlying original insights. Francisco Goya, Emily Dickinson, Marcel Proust, and Abraham Lincoln were all confirmed melancholics. So enough Prozac-ing of our brains. Let&#8217;s embrace our depressive sides as the wellspring of creativity. What most people take for contentment, Wilson argues, is living death, and what the majority takes for depression is a vital force. It&#8217;s time to throw off the shackles of positivity and relish the blues that make us human. 1288002 22 1 2008 Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy total:213|5:24|4:53|3:79|2:34|1:23| 213 660 493 86 4 10 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jan 18 10:41:49 -0800 2008 Sun Apr 06 10:48:18 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 6 false false Wed Feb 13 14:10:50 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 13 17:04:55 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 4 false false Fri Jul 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 18 23:10:49 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 19 00:32:36 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 3 false false Sat May 17 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 21 20:47:24 -0700 2008 Sat May 17 10:54:22 -0700 2008
...more...]]> 1 2 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 11 18:02:06 -0800 2008 Sun May 04 23:38:42 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Aug 27 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 25 23:48:43 -0700 2008 Sat May 02 09:31:55 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 1 false false Sat Jul 26 09:40:29 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 08 13:20:49 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 26 09:40:29 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sun Apr 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 14 14:15:40 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 14 14:15:40 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 29 07:18:31 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 29 07:23:34 -0800 2008 more...]]> 1 1 false false Tue Jun 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 09 06:00:06 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 09 06:34:32 -0700 2009
If I could give this book ZERO stars, I'd do it. It's truly awful. Awful in a train-wreck/can't-look-away sense.

It's too bad, because he has some good points. I'll summarize them here, to save you the trouble:

1) ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Apr 12 09:24:06 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 12 09:24:35 -0700 2009
To start, the ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Nov 30 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 29 10:51:15 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 01 01:18:05 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Jan 01 22:01:24 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 02 09:06:42 -0800 2009
But I'm disappointed in the author's generalizations. Ironically, he rails against the "mall mentality,"...more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 13:46:13 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 19 14:54:45 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 15 21:52:17 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 15 22:01:09 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jun 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 03:45:20 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 03:45:42 -0700 2009
In this candid and unconventional book, English professor and humanist Eric G. Wilson positions himself as melancholy’s champion. He does everything but wave gloomy pom-poms as he extols its role in creativity and invention. As counterintuitive a...more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 30 06:59:27 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 26 19:19:51 -0700 2008 3 1 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 13 06:58:31 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 13 07:00:15 -0700 2008 3 1 false false Fri Feb 29 14:14:28 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 29 14:15:18 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Fri May 01 11:08:27 -0700 2009 Sun May 03 15:14:42 -0700 2009 more...]]>