A well written and engaging book about what makes for a good life as told by a couple of elderly psychologists.
Early on the authors address the issue that the study they are basing the book on was designed and performed on men until very recently, leaving out half the human population, however, this is not in any way acknowledged in the rest of the book, leaving me wondering - are these lessons applicable to the other half of the population? As in way too many studies, it seems women are assumed to be smaller and more unpredictable versions of men who are the gold standard.
Based on the descriptions I also have my doubts as to the scientific rigeur of the study, leaving me wondering how much 'interpretation' and ret conning takes place every time someone wants to use the data - and if so, are the conclusions valid? In fact couching this as a scientific study is a bit of a stretch - social sciences perhaps, with the caveats that entails.
It must also have been a bit of a pain to have Kahnemans study of money and happiness featuring prominently early in the book, only to have him recant the findings of that study just after the book came out.
The fact that the authors seems to think that the modern world leaves some of us much worse of than previously is also a real head scratcher and makes me wonder about their understanding of the world. I think Roslyng has demonstrated with convincing data, that the world is a much better place than it ever was. ( )

4 1/2 stars: Super, couldn't put it down

The person who recommended this to me said "you already know this" but it was worth reading anyway. Co-authored by two scientists involved in the multi generational longest study on happiness, they seek to answer the question "What makes a good life?". The answer, supported by dozens of studies, is the quality of our relationships. This is independent of other stressors, such as financial, health, racism, etc. The original Harvard Study followed both privileged men (including JFK) as well as less fortunate in Boston. Over the years it has included multi generations, and now includes spouses. This book includes case studies and interviews from participants and their children and reminds us that in this time of unprecedented fracturing of society, our relationships are what see us through difficult times.

From amazon:
"What makes for a happy life, a fulfilling life? A good life? In their “captivating” (The Wall Street Journal) book, the directors of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest scientific study of happiness ever conducted, show that the answer to these questions may be closer than you realize.

What makes a life fulfilling and meaningful? The simple but surprising answer is: relationships. The stronger our relationships, the more likely we are to live happy, satisfying, and healthier lives. In fact, the Harvard Study of Adult Development reveals that the strength of our connections with others can predict the health of both our bodies and our brains as we go through life.

The invaluable insights in this book emerge from the revealing personal stories of hundreds of participants in the Harvard Study as they were followed year after year for their entire adult lives, and this wisdom was bolstered by research findings from many other studies. Relationships in all their forms—friendships, romantic partnerships, families, coworkers, tennis partners, book club members, Bible study groups—all contribute to a happier, healthier life. And as The Good Life shows us, it’s never too late to strengthen the relationships you already have, and never too late to build new ones. The Good Life provides examples of how to do this.

Dr. Waldinger’s TED Talk about the Harvard Study, “What Makes a Good Life,” has been viewed more than 42 million times and is one of the ten most-watched TED talks ever. The Good Life has been praised by bestselling authors Jay Shetty “an empowering quest towards our greatest need: meaningful human connection”), Angela Duckworth (“In a crowded field of life advice...Schulz and Waldinger stand apart”), and happiness expert Laurie Santos (“Waldinger and Schulz are world experts on the counterintuitive things that make life meaningful”).

With “insightful [and] interesting” (Daniel Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author of Stumbling on Happiness) life stories, The Good Life shows us how we can make our lives happier and more meaningful through our connections to others." ( )

If you only read one book this year, pick this one. The information and message of this book is crucial and potentially life changing. I realize that friends and relationships are the most important aspect of life and I have not cultivated friendships like I should to my own detriment. ( )

What makes a good, happy life? It's a question most people ask at one time or another, and the Harvard Study started researching back in the 1940s, using interviews with Harvard graduates and young men from rougher neighborhoods in the Boston area, and has since grown, in some cases including their wives and children for a second generation. Current director Robert Waldinger and his colleague, Marc Schulz, distill their findings here: it's all about relationships.

Yes, despite the title sounding like it will be several "to dos" or a breakdown of various findings the study has had over generations, this is primarily a self-help book about how to have better relationships with your friends, family, co-workers, and intimate partners. As such, it's not bad. The two authors are psychologists and Waldinger's background in Zen Buddhism is apparent throughout (though they quote from other religious traditions as well). The advice is solid, if not ground-breaking, and they are quick to point out that one person may be perfectly happy with two strong friendships, while another needs more to feel happy and fulfilled. They use case studies from the Harvard Study to good effect to show both positive and negative examples. An overall interesting read. ( )

Reading this book is worthwhile for the way it helps you to zoom out on individual real men's lives, and trigger you to reflect on your own biography, with its loves, losses, triumphs and defeats. The author's job is to examine the individual lives of a cohort of Harvard men over the decades, and the stories of these lives which dot the book serve to demonstrate the wisdom of pursing 'the good life' through pursuing rich, loving human relationships. The only drawback of the book is that neither of the two author's are greatly accomplished prose stylists - you are reading workman like prose written by professional therapists, rather than beautiful literary style.

Fantastic longitudinal study of over 85 years, through Harvad, which chronicles what makes a happy life. It is not fame and fortune as modern media would have us believe. As told in the introduction, it is relationships in our lives. The rest of the book substantiates this with examples of participants, though false names are used for ananimity. ( )

A really excellent tome;however, in my humble opinion there are a few minor flaws. The authors try to walk the fine line between a research and general public book. I personally think that some of the dialog could be trimmed back. It always appears, to me, that Psychologists/Psychiatrists tend to be very wordy and sometimes approach their subject matter obliquely. In defense they have 80 years of material to look at.
What is happiness and what is the good life? This book shoots down several preconceived ideas about what the answers are for these two questions, though I think that some of their conclusion are not applicable to today's society I will leave it up to the reader to figure out what those conclusions are. It is apparent that the study needs to be carried on for at least another 80 years to see how the thoughts and ideas presented in this book evolve.
This book is a good starting point for one who is really interested in evaluating their own life, future and goals. It can be a hard journey and one may realize that what they think would be a better life is not what they think. A really good book gives one ideas to pause and think about, this book does this in spades.
I have checked this out of my public library and in a year I am planning on buying a used copy to put on my shelve as a reference. ( )