Authentic Happiness by Martin E. P. Seligman, Ph.D.     Free Press 2002 Dr. Martin Seligman’s credentials are impressive, He is a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, former president of the American Psychological Association and author of twenty books. But his enduring legacy will be his founding, in 1998, of a new scientific movement called Positive Psychology. He noted that, for 50 years, psychologists had been studying pathology and mental illness. Fortunately, a huge amount of progress was made, especially in the area of depression. But very little time and effort were devoted to understanding positive emotions and finding ways to build on them. He set out to change that. He pulled together an impressive group of his esteemed colleagues and formed the Positive Psychology Network, becoming its director. Authentic Happiness is his fascinating and inspiring look at the research into what makes us happy and what we can do to enhance our feelings of well-being. This book is very easy to read. It includes leading edge research, self-rating surveys, practical suggestions and personal anecdotes – such as a story about Dr, Seligman’s five-year old daughter telling him to “stop being such a grouch” (a tip of the hat to Oscar on Sesame Street?) when they were gardening together. There’s something for everyone – even a section titled “Why are Lawyers So Unhappy?” It talks about work, love, health, money and devotes an entire chapter to “Raising Children”. Here are some of the findings that caught my attention: • the afterglow of “pleasurable” activity (hanging out with friends, watching a movie or eating a hot fudge sundae) paled in comparison with the effects of performing an act of kindness. • We each have a personal set range for our level of happiness, to which we return after the effects of life events dissipate. For example, winners of major lotteries are no happier several months later than they were before their windfall. • Objective good health is barely related to happiness; what matters is our subjective perception of how healthy we are. • Money has surprisingly little effect on happiness once your basic needs are met – and people who are more materialistic are less happy. The book talks about happiness in three time frames: satisfaction about the past – gratification and forgiveness are important here; optimism about the future – optimists and pessimists have different explanatory styles regarding good and bad events; and happiness in the present – pleasure is not the same as gratification. Most importantly, it explains how to increase your happiness in all three time frames by learning new skills and building on others (what he calls “signature strengths”). It makes for great reading. The book is warm, engaging and practical. I enjoyed it thoroughly and highly recommend it.