A very nice read, but incomplete for most of usAugust 10, 2007 0 out of 4 found this review helpful
I watched the Dalai Lama at one of his dialogues recently. He is a very beautiful man, a master, and a great crowd pleaser. Sadly, I know that for most of us, the inspiration gained in his presence is not enough to carry us through the day to day problems of life, and we may soon forget his comforting words. More than that, there are no practically applicable answers here. Our 'unhappiness' is deeply ingrained through what may be years of dysfunction, and cannot be shifted permanently and effectively by reading a book like this. From the book: '...one sets about gradually eliminating those factors which lead to suffering and cultivating those which lead to happiness. That is the way." Well I am sorry, but I have no clue how to do this! The best book I have found that actually gives you practical solutions is Olga Sheean's Fit for Love: Find Your Self and Your Perfect Mate, which provides powerful answers through our relationships with each other, to properly address these problems.
MUST BUYJune 19, 2007 3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Completely changed my life for the better. A required reading for everyone.
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Not badJune 18, 2007 1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have bought this book some time ago becuse I myself am a very spiritual person in hopes to become a better person. I will not tell you a lie this book has some exercises and some medation exercises to help improve your life. This book has help me somewhat.
The Art of GrammarJune 15, 2007 1 out of 4 found this review helpful
I was excited to read The Art of Happiness because I love learning about different perspectives on happiness. Although I find the book's principles interesting, I am often too distracted by the continuous grammatical errors to absorb the life lessons. The first sentence of chapter one is grammatically incorrect. I immediately noted that although the sentence ends with a quote, it does not begin with one. Luckily, this does not harm the sentence's content. However, on pages 24 and 25, I noticed that multiple sentences began with quotes, but they did not end with quotes. This is a major problem. Without proper quotation, the text is unreliable. At this point, how can anyone truly confirm the Dalai Lama's thoughts from Howard Cutler's beliefs? The severity of the book's grammatical errors are infringing on the validity of its content. I will continue reading the book, but I feel its poor grammar takes away from the essence of the book as a piece of literature.
Misleading authorshipJune 2, 2007 8 out of 8 found this review helpful
As noted in other reviews, the cover is misleading in suggesting this is written by the Dalai Lama. The book is written by the rather average writer and psychiatrist Howard Cutler who lists his name as second author although he is really the sole author. Cutler uses quotations from some interviews he had with the Dalai Lama to justify the deceptive authorship credit. The quotations are very thinly spread through the book and you will find nothing new here. I presume this is legal, but I felt cheated and really struggled to extend loving compassion to Cutler and the publishers of this book. Read some of the texts really written by the Dalai Lama or the excellent and beautifully written book "Happiness" by Matthieu Ricard instead.
