{"product_id":"the-pursuit-of-happiness-a-history-from-the-greeks-to-the-present","title":"The Pursuit of Happiness: A History from the Greeks to the Present","description":"Happiness and its pursuit have been a constant source of fascination and attraction for thousands of years. In ancient Greek tragedy, happiness was considered a gift of the gods. Now we consider it a right. Why did this change and what does it tell us about our society? The Pursuit of Happiness offers a brilliant summation of the history of happiness, and its evolution from divine gift to natural human entitlement. Central to the development of Christianity, ideas of happiness assumed their modern form during the Enlightenment. Darrin McMahon follows this great search through to the present day, showing how our modern quest for the ‘holy grail’ of happiness continues to generate new forms of pleasure, but also, paradoxically, new forms of pain. Perfect happiness, like the holy grail, may exist only in our minds, and McMahon helps us discover that, as for Cervantes’ knight of sad countenance, Quixote, to travel is better than to arrive.\u003cbr\u003eASIN: 0140295267\u003cbr\u003eVSKU: DBV.0140295267.G\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Good\u003cbr\u003eAuthor\/Artist:Darrin McMahon\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote:\u003c\/b\u003e Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Notes\u003c\/b\u003e: Gently used with minimal wear on the corners and cover. A few pages may contain light highlighting or writing, but the text remains fully legible. Dust jacket may be missing, and supplemental materials like CDs or codes may not be included. May be ex-library with library markings. Ships promptly!  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Dream Books Co.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41353279176762,"sku":"DBV.0140295267.G","price":8.85,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/6011\/0138\/files\/0140295267-0.jpg?v=1775326369","url":"https:\/\/shop.dreambooksco.com\/products\/the-pursuit-of-happiness-a-history-from-the-greeks-to-the-present","provider":"Dream Books Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}