What does Bhutan understand about happiness that the rest of the world does not? Award-winning journalist and author Madeline Drexler recently traveled to this Himalayan nation to discover how the audacious policy known as Gross National Happiness plays out in a fast-changing society where Buddhism is deeply rooted - but where the temptations and collateral damage of materialism are rising. Her reported essay blends lyrical travelogue, cultural history, personal insights, and provocative conversations with top policymakers, activists, bloggers, writers, artists, scholars, religious leaders, students, and ordinary citizens in many walks of life. This book is sure to fascinate readers interested in travel, Buddhism, progressive politics, and especially the study and practice of happiness.
A Splendid Isolation: Lessons on Happiness from the Kingdom of Bhutan, Madeline Drexler, Paperback, 61 pp, 2014, $7.99
Madeline Drexler is an award-winning journalist, author and travel essayist. She is editor of Harvard Public Health magazine and a senior fellow at Brandeis University's Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism. Among her national honors: Best American Travel Writing 2015 (Houghton Mifflin); Grand Gold Winner for Best Article of the Year, CASE Circle of Excellence Awards; 2012 Sigma Delta Chi Award for Public Service in Magazine Journalism; 2012 Clarion Award for Feature Articles; and 1996-1997 Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT. Drexler's articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, The American Prospect, The New Republic, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, and many other national publications. Her book Emerging Epidemics: The Menace of New Infections (Penguin, 2010), originally issued in 2003 as Secret Agents: The Menace of Emerging Infections, drew wide critical praise. Drexler began her career as a staff photographer for The Associated Press.
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