All That Happiness Is

“This is one that every one of us—and recent graduates especially—needs to hear. In just 67 pages, New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik holds a mirror up to our achievement-obsessed world, bent on monetizing every hobby and accelerating every career move, and opens a door to a brighter future: one with accomplishment at its center … his overall argument is both humble and motivating. And the book is slim enough to fit in even the most cramped hatchback on move-out day!” – Charley Burlock - Oprah Daily“All That Happiness Is becomes a kind of call to respect the necessity and benefits of experiencing that sense of accomplishment and how once that happens, the work necessary to garner achievements comes more naturally … It took me maybe 20 minutes to read All That Happiness Is, not much of an achievement, but the full worth of a book isn’t in how long we took to read it, but in how long it lingers in our lives. In this case, Gopnik has accomplished much.” – John Warner - Chicago Tribune“Happiness is found not in ‘something gained but in something lost—the loss of ourselves in something ‘other,’’ according to this concise and elegant meditation from New Yorker staff writer Gopnik … he constructs a convincing case for the pursuit of individual fulfillment as both an end in itself and a precondition for an open society with strong communal bonds. The result is a thought-provoking look at an eternally fascinating topic.” – Publishers Weekly“The longtime New Yorker writer waxes philosophical in this slim, aphoristic book … Thoughtful contemplations on the pursuit to be happy.” – Kirkus Reviews

Adam Gopnik is a staff writer at The New Yorker and has written for the magazine since 1986. He has three National Magazine awards for essays and for criticism. The author of numerous best-selling books, including Paris to the Moon, he lives in New York City.