Ser feliz virou uma obrigação. As pessoas apelam para os antidepressivos, acreditam em remédios de eficácia duvidosa e se exaurem na academia. Tudo com o aval do médico ou do especialista. Mas será que criar artificialmente esse sentimento é saudável? Em Felicidade Artificial, o renomado médico norte-americano Ronald W. Dworkin provoca o leitor mostrando sem meias-palavras a que ponto chegamos e para onde vamos. Ele revela o lado obscuro do assustador aumento na prescrição de antidepressivos, da procura pela medicina alternativa e da cultura do corpo e do exercício físico nos últimos 40 anos, uma revolução que produziu uma nova "classe feliz" que está mudando o perfil de todo o mundo. Um livro polêmico e assustador que precisa ser lido por todos antes que seja tarde.

This could have been so much better! As it is it makes many interesting points, but that's about all it does. Dworkin clearly did his research, yet he seems somehow reluctant to share it. He doesn't like "Articfical Happiness", which includes "excessive" exercise, psychotropic drugs for most, and new age spiritualism.

At its worst the book reads like the ravings of a conspiracy theorist, as with his thesis that all general practitioners did this, that and the other thing, from perverting religion to pushing psychotherapy virtually off the map.

At its best it gives some interesting history about things like the rise of the "physician engineer," how the medical profession stuck its snout into spirituality, even the bit about mind-brain dualism vs. monism.

Yet, the overall tone seemed rushed, like Dworkin hadn't done enough reflection, or was trying to stuff too much into what was kind of a short work.

Not bad, but still a disappointment. ( )