After college, Weiner becomes a journalist, partly to travel. After visiting many unhappy, war-torn countries for National Public Radio, he wonders, “What if, I wondered, I spent a year traveling the globe, seeking out not the world’s well-trodden trouble spots but, rather, its unheralded happy places?” (1).

Weiner describes himself as an unhappy person. Most people historically have been unhappy, he contends. However, in recent times, happiness has become a common expectation.

Self-help books promise that happiness resides within. However, Weiner counters this idea with eastern philosophy, arguing that there is not a rigid distinction between the inside and outside of a person. The outer environment, physically and culturally, also affects happiness: “We speak of searching for happiness, of finding contentment, as if these were locations in an atlas, actual places that we could visit if only we had the proper map and the right navigational skills” (3).

Since ancient times, people have often thought of paradise as a place. Weiner prepares for his travels by studying the science of happiness, along with travel books. Weiner sets off, noting that he does not seriously expect to find happiness.