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The Progress Paradox

How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse

How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse

How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse

How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse

By Gregg Easterbrook

By Gregg Easterbrook

By Gregg Easterbrook

By Gregg Easterbrook

By Gregg Easterbrook
Read by Rick Adamson

By Gregg Easterbrook
Read by Rick Adamson

By Gregg Easterbrook
Read by Jonathan Marosz

By Gregg Easterbrook
Read by Jonathan Marosz

Best Seller

Category: Wellness

Category: Wellness

Category: Wellness | Audiobooks

Category: Wellness | Audiobooks

Paperback $18.00

Nov 09, 2004 | ISBN 9780812973037

Ebook $14.99

Nov 25, 2003 | ISBN 9781588363268

Audiobook Download $14.95

Nov 25, 2003 | 347 Minutes

Audiobook Download $19.95

Sep 03, 2003 | 678 Minutes

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    The Progress Paradox by Gregg Easterbrook
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    About The Progress Paradox

    In The Progress Paradox, Gregg Easterbrook draws upon three decades of wide-ranging research and thinking to make the persuasive assertion that almost all aspects of Western life have vastly improved in the past century–and yet today, most men and women feel less happy than in previous generations.

    Detailing the emerging science of “positive psychology,” which seeks to understand what causes a person’s sense of well-being, Easterbrook offers an alternative to our culture of crisis and complaint. He makes a compelling case that optimism, gratitude, and acts of forgiveness not only make modern life more fulfilling but are actually in our self-interest. An affirming and constructive way of seeing life anew, The Progress Paradox will change the way you think about your place in the world–and about our collective ability to make it better.

    About The Progress Paradox

    In The Progress Paradox, Gregg Easterbrook draws upon three decades of wide-ranging research and thinking to make the persuasive assertion that almost all aspects of Western life have vastly improved in the past century–and yet today, most men and women feel less happy than in previous generations. Why this is so and what we should do about it is the subject of this book.

    Between contemporary emphasis on grievances and the fears engendered by 9/11, today it is common to hear it said that life has started downhill, or that our parents had it better. But objectively, almost everyone in today’s United States or European Union lives better than his or her parents did.

    Still, studies show that the percentage of the population that is happy has not increased in fifty years, while depression and stress have become ever more prevalent. The Progress Paradox explores why ever-higher living standards don’t seem to make us any happier. Detailing the emerging science of “positive psychology,” which seeks to understand what causes a person’s sense of well-being, Easterbrook offers an alternative to our culture of crisis and complaint. He makes a Compelling case that optimism, gratitude, and acts of forgiveness not only make modern life more fulfilling but are actually in our self-interest.

    Seemingly insoluble problems of the past, such as crime in New York City and smog in Los Angeles, have proved more tractable than they were thought to be. Likewise, today’s “impossible” problems, such as global warming and Islamic terrorism, can be tackled too.

    Like The Tipping Point, this book offers an affirming and constructive way of seeing the world anew. The Progress Paradox will change the way you think about your place in the world, and about our collective ability to make it better.

    About The Progress Paradox

    In The Progress Paradox, Gregg Easterbrook draws upon three decades of wide-ranging research and thinking to make the persuasive assertion that almost all aspects of Western life have vastly improved in the past century–and yet today, most men and women feel less happy than in previous generations. Why this is so and what we should do about it is the subject of this book.

    Between contemporary emphasis on grievances and the fears engendered by 9/11, today it is common to hear it said that life has started downhill, or that our parents had it better. But objectively, almost everyone in today’s United States or European Union lives better than his or her parents did.

    Still, studies show that the percentage of the population that is happy has not increased in fifty years, while depression and stress have become ever more prevalent. The Progress Paradox explores why ever-higher living standards don’t seem to make us any happier. Detailing the emerging science of “positive psychology,” which seeks to understand what causes a person’s sense of well-being, Easterbrook offers an alternative to our culture of crisis and complaint. He makes a Compelling case that optimism, gratitude, and acts of forgiveness not only make modern life more fulfilling but are actually in our self-interest.

    Seemingly insoluble problems of the past, such as crime in New York City and smog in Los Angeles, have proved more tractable than they were thought to be. Likewise, today’s “impossible” problems, such as global warming and Islamic terrorism, can be tackled too.

    Like The Tipping Point, this book offers an affirming and constructive way of seeing the world anew. The Progress Paradox will change the way you think about your place in the world, and about our collective ability to make it better.

    About The Progress Paradox

    In The Progress Paradox, Gregg Easterbrook draws upon three decades of wide-ranging research and thinking to make the persuasive assertion that almost all aspects of Western life have vastly improved in the past century–and yet today, most men and women feel less happy than in previous generations. Why this is so and what we should do about it is the subject of this book.

    Between contemporary emphasis on grievances and the fears engendered by 9/11, today it is common to hear it said that life has started downhill, or that our parents had it better. But objectively, almost everyone in today’s United States or European Union lives better than his or her parents did.

    Still, studies show that the percentage of the population that is happy has not increased in fifty years, while depression and stress have become ever more prevalent. The Progress Paradox explores why ever-higher living standards don’t seem to make us any happier. Detailing the emerging science of “positive psychology,” which seeks to understand what causes a person’s sense of well-being, Easterbrook offers an alternative to our culture of crisis and complaint. He makes a Compelling case that optimism, gratitude, and acts of forgiveness not only make modern life more fulfilling but are actually in our self-interest.

    Seemingly insoluble problems of the past, such as crime in New York City and smog in Los Angeles, have proved more tractable than they were thought to be. Likewise, today’s “impossible” problems, such as global warming and Islamic terrorism, can be tackled too.

    Like The Tipping Point, this book offers an affirming and constructive way of seeing the world anew. The Progress Paradox will change the way you think about your place in the world, and about our collective ability to make it better.

    Read An Excerpt

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    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

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    About Gregg Easterbrook

    Gregg Easterbrook is the author of nine books, including The Progress Paradox. He is a contributing editor to The Atlantic, for which he has written more than a dozen cover stories, and The New Republic. His articles have appeared in The New York Times… More about Gregg Easterbrook

    About Gregg Easterbrook

    Gregg Easterbrook is the author of nine books, including The Progress Paradox. He is a contributing editor to The Atlantic, for which he has written more than a dozen cover stories, and The New Republic. His articles have appeared in The New York Times… More about Gregg Easterbrook

    About Gregg Easterbrook

    Gregg Easterbrook is the author of nine books, including The Progress Paradox. He is a contributing editor to The Atlantic, for which he has written more than a dozen cover stories, and The New Republic. His articles have appeared in The New York Times… More about Gregg Easterbrook

    About Gregg Easterbrook

    Gregg Easterbrook is the author of nine books, including The Progress Paradox. He is a contributing editor to The Atlantic, for which he has written more than a dozen cover stories, and The New Republic. His articles have appeared in The New York Times… More about Gregg Easterbrook

    Product Details

    Category: Wellness

    Paperback | $18.00
    Published by Random House Trade Paperbacks
    Nov 09, 2004 | 400 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780812973037

    Category: Wellness

    Ebook | $14.99
    Published by Random House
    Nov 25, 2003 | 400 Pages | ISBN 9781588363268

    Category: Wellness | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $14.95
    Published by Random House Audio
    Nov 25, 2003 | 347 Minutes | ISBN 9780739310519

    Category: Wellness | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $19.95
    Published by Random House Audio
    Sep 03, 2003 | 678 Minutes | ISBN 9781415901335

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    Praise

    “The Progress Paradox raises some provocative questions. . . . This is a book meant to challenge left and right–keep both sides off balance. . . . A welcome antidote to the demagoguery prevalent in political discussion today.”
    –Los Angeles Times

    “Well-constructed, civic-minded . . . full of compelling statistics and anecdotes . . . a convincing case for good cheer.”
    –The New York Times Book Review

    “Lively . . . combines a vast amount of scholarly research and reporting to generate a thoughtful, sustained argument.”
    –BusinessWeek

    “Utterly engaging . . . There are surprises all through it, and some startling refutations of conventional wisdoms.”
    –Baltimore Sun

    “With the lively wit and contrarian insight that is a regular feature of his articles in The New Republic . . . Mr. Easterbrook offers a bracing reminder of what is too often forgotten but difficult to deny: In the West in the past fifty years, life has gotten steadily better.”
    –The Wall Street Journal

    “Excellent.”
    –The Economist


    Fascinating. . . may well be this fall’s version of The Tipping Point.”
    –Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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