A review by jmatkinson1
The Happiness Industry: How the Government and Big Business Sold Us Well-Being by William Davies

3.0

Through exploring the pursuit of happiness via economics, sociology, psychology etc William Davies tries to present some of the more recent ideas of well-being as spurious. There is a degree of cynicism throughout the book but also a realisation that depression has a huge impact on society. By acknowledging depression as a true state of being and exploring the causes Davies wants to show that the roots of this go far deeper than just feelings. However as some point he notes that depression has a huge impact and that as a society we are close to understanding the triggers and therefore the potential cures. Despite not wanting to feel aligned with the positive psychology movement, all Davies does is actually give support to this premise.

A rather confused and confusing book, great on history and fact but less so on opinion.