Stumbling on Happiness

By: Daniel Gilbert

Narrated by: Daniel Gilbert

A smart and funny book by a prominent Harvard psychologist, which uses groundbreaking research and (often hilarious) anecdotes to show us why we’re so lousy at predicting what will make us happy–and what we can do about it.

Most of us spend our lives steering ourselves toward the best of all possible futures, only to find that tomorrow rarely turns out as we had expected. Why? As Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert explains, when people try to imagine what the future will hold, they make some basic and consistent mistakes. Just as memory plays tricks on us when we try to look backward in time, so does imagination play tricks when we try to look forward. Using cutting-edge research, much of it original, Gilbert shakes, cajoles, persuades, tricks and jokes us into accepting the fact that happiness is not really what or where we thought it was.

Among the unexpected questions he poses: Why are conjoined twins no less happy than the general population? When you go out to eat, is it better to order your favourite dish every time, or to try something new? If Ingrid Bergman hadn’t gotten on the plane at the end of Casablanca, would she and Bogey have been better off?

Smart, witty, accessible and laugh-out-loud funny, Stumbling on Happiness brilliantly describes all that science has to tell us about the uniquely human ability to envision the future, and how likely we are to enjoy it when we get there.

©2006 Daniel Gilbert (P)2006 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Stumbling on Happiness is an absolutely fantastic book that will shatter your most deeply held convictions about how your own mind works. Ceaselessly entertaining, Gilbert is the perfect guide to some of the most interesting psychological research ever performed. Think you know what makes you happy? You won’t know for sure until you have read this book.”–Steven D. Levitt, author of Freakonomics

“Everyone will enjoy reading this book, and some of us will wish we could have written it. You will rarely have a chance to learn so much about so important a topic while having so much fun.”–Professor Daniel Kahneman, Princeton University, Winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economics

“This is a brilliant book, a useful book, and a book that could quite possibly change the way you look at just about everything. And as a bonus, Gilbert writes like a cross between Malcolm Gladwell and David Sedaris.” –Seth Godin, author All Marketers Are Liars

Not a self help book

I really enjoyed Stumbling on Happiness. It reminded me a great deal of Freakonomics. It is a highly entertaining piece psychology writing designed for mass-consumption (rather than a scholarly journal). It's title makes it sound like a self-help book. It is not. It is a science book (though a fun one).

a nice read, left me wondering

This was a nice book full of great little tools to figure out your needs, your environment, and your habits... not necessarily in that order. At the end, though, I found myself a bit confused about whether the net result of the book really advanced me any useful way. Still pondering that one.

We are terrible predictors of what we want

Having been annoyed for so many years by people who were convinced they knew what they wanted, and thought I should know what I wanted as well, I was delighted to find a book that showed how lousy we are at predicting what will make us happy. I also finally understood why I owned so many things that were of so little interest to me now. An excellent book on some of the most intriguing current research on human psychology as it relates to happiness.

An interesting and well read audiobook

Stumbling on Happiness was a great audiobook experience. The author does a great job in conveying a sense of humour and wonderment while navigating important scientific findings regarding the human brain and behaviour. If you are interested in how your brain works (and how it doesn't) and you like big ideas explained clearly then I recommend this book.

Lots of good information

This book isn't a Self-Help book and it doesn't contain blueprints to make your life happier. However, it does an amazing job of explaining how we make decisions and how those decisions affect our happiness. Every point Gilbert makes is supports by psychological studies that lend credence to his ideas and illustrate the points he is trying to make. I'm recommending this book to all my friends and family and to you, too.

Great book that ended too quickly!

Daniel Gilbert did an amazing job analyzing happiness in regards to our past, present, and future. It's not a "how to" book but it definitely provides great insight on happiness and how it shapes our lives, our views, and much more. Definitely worth listening to. I highly recommend this book!

Enlightening book!!

Daniel's humor and scientific approach are great combined, making this book an good experience and a key life lesson.

Not a self help book but fascinating

This book is not a self-help book nor does it claim to be but the information is fascinating. The author explains why we do certain things and how we mistake or interpret certain events or ideas in our lives. Recommend if you like psychology.

Very cool read

Very interesting read. I came in with one expectation and left with a different result. Pretty much sums up what I learned.

it's not that simple

Daniel Gilbert provides a close-in and interesting look at how the inner workings of our brain affect how we look at the world. A lot of what I learned from this book wasn't obvious to me. Gilbert is as good a narrator as he is an author.