Most Popular Books by Arthur C. Brooks

The roadmap for finding purpose, meaning, and success as we age, from bestselling author, Harvard professor, and the Atlantic''s happiness columnist Arthur Brooks. Many of us assume that the more successful we are, the less susceptible we become to the sense of professional and social irrelevance that often accompanies aging. But the truth is, the greater our achievements and our attachment to them, the more we notice our decline, and the more painful it is when it occurs. What can we do, starting now, to make our older years a time of happiness, purpose, and yes, success? At the height of his career at the age of 50, Arthur Brooks embarked on a seven-year journey to discover how to transform his future from one of disappointment over waning abilities into an opportunity for progress. From Strength to Strength is the result, a practical roadmap for the rest of your life. Drawing on social science, philosophy, biography, theology, and eastern wisdom, as well as dozens of interviews with everyday men and women, Brooks shows us that true life success is well within our reach. By refocusing on certain priorities and habits that anyone can learn, such as deep wisdom, detachment from empty rewards, connection and service to others, and spiritual progress, we can set ourselves up for increased happiness. Read this book and you, too, can go from strength to strength.

You can get happier. And getting there will be the adventure of your lifetime. INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In Build the Life You Want, Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey invite you to begin a journey toward greater happiness no matter how challenging your circumstances. Drawing on cutting-edge science and their years of helping people translate ideas into action, they show you how to improve your life right now instead of waiting for the outside world to change. With insight, compassion, and hope, Brooks and Winfrey reveal how the tools of emotional self-management can change your life―immediately. They recommend practical, research-based practices to build the four pillars of happiness: family, friendship, work, and faith. And along the way, they share hard-earned wisdom from their own lives and careers as well as the witness of regular people whose lives are joyful despite setbacks and hardship. Equipped with the tools of emotional self-management and ready to build your four pillars, you can take control of your present and future rather than hoping and waiting for your circumstances to improve. Build the Life You Want is your blueprint for a better life.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of From Strength to Strength, an account of how the modern world sets us up to fail at finding meaning--and a plan for finding what you seek. Meaning in life is getting harder to find--and there’s a reason for that. In The Meaning of Your Life, social scientist and happiness expert Arthur Brooks explains how rapid societal and technological changes have rewired our brains, making them ill-equipped to handle questions of existential reckoning. The resulting emptiness is not imaginary, and it is life-destroying for some, especially for young people. Fortunately, there''s hope. With compassion, clarity, and practicality, Brooks tells you exactly what you need to do to move toward meaning. You''ll take a test to determine where you are on your meaning journey, learn evidence-based tactics for rewiring your brain for complex and abstract concepts, and discover a vocabulary for your desires. Most importantly, Brooks will show you where to search for the transcendence, vocation, and significance that are your birthright as a human being. “What is the meaning of my life?” is not an unanswerable question, but the road to an answer—or answers—is a long one. The Meaning of Your Life is your guide for the journey.

For too long, conservatism has been a movement of the head and not the heart. Now New York Times bestselling author Arthur C. Brooks offers a bold new vision for conservatism as a movement for happiness, unity, and social justice—a movement of the head and heart that boldly challenges the liberal monopoly on "fairness" and "compassion." Many Americans today see two dispiriting political choices: ineffective compassion on one side and heartless pragmatism on the other. Progressives have always presented themselves as champions of the poor and vulnerable. But they have not succeeded—more and more people are hopeless and dependent on government. Meanwhile, conservatives possess the best solutions to the problems of poverty and declining mobility. Yet because they don''t speak in a way that reflects their concern and compassion, many Americans don''t trust them. Americans know that outmoded redistribution yields poor results and does little for the pursuit of happiness. But there seems to be no conservative alternative that looks out for those struggling to get by. Arthur Brooks, one of the country''s leading policy experts and the president of the American Enterprise Institute, has considered these issues for decades. Drawing on years of research on the sources of happiness and the conditions of human flourishing, Brooks presents a social justice agenda for a New Right. Proposing a set of practical policies firmly grounded in the four "institutions of meaning"—family, faith, community, and meaningful work—Brooks describes a government safety net that actually lifts people up, and offers a vision of true hope through earned success. Brooks argues that it is time for a new kind of conservatism, one that fights poverty, promotes equal opportunity, and extols spiritual enlightenment. It is an inclusive, optimistic movement with a positive agenda to help people lead happier and more fulfilling lives. Clear, well-reasoned, accessible, and free of vituperative politics, The Conservative Heart is a welcome new strategy for conservatives looking for fresh, actionable ideas—and for politically independent citizens who believe that neither side is adequately addressing their needs or concerns.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Harvard professor and bestselling author Arthur C. Brooks offers science-based insights on work and life in this curated collection from his "How to Build a Life" column in The Atlantic. Imagine if your life were a startup. How would you lead it and shape it to be most successful? That''s the question behind The Happiness Files, a rich selection of enlightening and instructive essays by Arthur C. Brooks, known worldwide for his inspiring yet practical wisdom and advice in his weekly column for The Atlantic and in his bestselling books, From Strength to Strength and Build the Life You Want (coauthored with Oprah Winfrey). The simple answer, as Brooks wisely explains, is to manage your life in a way that leads to truly valuable rewards: love, enjoyment, satisfaction, and meaning—in other words, happiness. Building on his popular Harvard Business School course "Leadership and Happiness," Brooks begins each essay with sharp observations and behavioral science research that shed light on how happiness really works, then offers experiential wisdom and practical advice. Beautifully written, the essays range from ancient philosophy to literature, pop culture, and the contemporary world of work. They explore topics and challenges such as "Procrastinate This, Not That," "Why Success Can Feel So Bitter," and "Five Pillars of a Good Life." Readers will find the chapters helpfully grouped by theme: "On Managing Yourself," "On Jobs, Money, and Building Your Career," "On Balancing Work, Life, and Relationships," and more. We all need more happiness in our work and in our lives. In The Happiness Files you''ll find enlightenment, inspiration, and useful guidance for leading a happier, more successful, and more fulfilling life and career.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER To get ahead today, you have to be a jerk, right? Divisive politicians. Screaming heads on television. Angry campus activists. Twitter trolls. Today in America, there is an “outrage industrial complex” that prospers by setting American against American, creating a “culture of contempt”—the habit of seeing people who disagree with us not as merely incorrect, but as worthless and defective. Maybe, like more than nine out of ten Americans, you dislike it. But hey, either you play along, or you’ll be left behind, right? Wrong. In Love Your Enemies, social scientist and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller From Strength to Strength Arthur C. Brooks shows that abuse and outrage are not the right formula for lasting success. Brooks blends cutting-edge behavioral research, ancient wisdom, and a decade of experience leading one of America’s top policy think tanks in a work that offers a better way to lead based on bridging divides and mending relationships. Brooks’ prescriptions are unconventional. To bring America together, we shouldn’t try to agree more. There is no need for mushy moderation, because disagreement is the secret to excellence. Civility and tolerance shouldn’t be our goals, because they are hopelessly low standards. And our feelings toward our foes are irrelevant; what matters is how we choose to act. Love Your Enemies offers a clear strategy for victory for a new generation of leaders. It is a rallying cry for people hoping for a new era of American progress. Most of all, it is a roadmap to arrive at the happiness that comes when we choose to love one another, despite our differences.

We all know we should give to charity, but who really does? Approximately three-quarters of Americans give their time and money to various charities, churches, and causes; the other quarter of the population does not. Why has America split into two nations: givers and non-givers? Arthur Brooks, a top scholar of economics and public policy, has spent years researching this trend, and even he was surprised by what he found. In Who Really Cares, he demonstrates conclusively that conservatives really are compassionate-far more compassionate than their liberal foes. Strong families, church attendance, earned income (as opposed to state-subsidized income), and the belief that individuals, not government, offer the best solution to social ills-all of these factors determine how likely one is to give. Charity matters--not just to the givers and to the recipients, but to the nation as a whole. It is crucial to our prosperity, happiness, health, and our ability to govern ourselves as a free people. In Who Really Cares, Brooks outlines strategies for expanding the ranks of givers, for the good of all Americans.

The author analyzes evidence and empirical research to determine which groups are the happiest in America; and offers suggestions on how the government can help individuals maximize their happiness.

America faces a new culture war. It is not a war about guns, abortions, or gays -- rather it is a war against the creeping changes to our entrepreneurial culture, the true bedrock of who we are as a people. The new culture war is a battle between free enterprise and social democracy. Many Americans have forgotten the evils of socialism and the predations of the American Great Society''s welfare state programs. But, as American Enterprise Institute''s president Arthur C. Brooks reveals in The Battle, the forces for social democracy have returned with a vengeance, expanding the power of the state to a breathtaking degree. The Battle offers a plan of action for the defense of free enterprise; it is at once a call to arms and a crucial redefinition of the political and moral gulf that divides Right and Left in America today. The battle is on, and nothing less than the soul of America is at stake.

Argues that the Obama administration has used the economic crises to move away from free enterprise and offers a way back via sound public policy.

Popular opinion would have us believe that America''s free market system is driven by greed and materialism, resulting in gross inequalities of wealth, destruction of the environment, and other social ills. Even proponents of capitalism often refer to the free market as simply a ''lesser evil'' whose faults are preferable to those of social democracy or communism. But what if the conventional understanding of capitalism as corrupt and unprincipled is wrong? What if the free market economy actually reinforces Christian values? In Wealth and Justice: The Morality of Democratic Capitalism, Arthur C. Brooks and Peter Wehner explore how America''s system of democratic capitalism both depends upon and cultivates an intricate social web of families, churches, and communities. Far from oppressing and depriving individuals, the free market system uniquely enables Americans to exercise vocation and experience the dignity of self-sufficiency, all while contributing to the common good. The fruits of this system include the alleviation of poverty, better health, and greater access to education than at any other time in human history-but also a more significant prosperity: the flourishing of the human soul.

Nonprofits and the social sectors are taking on an increasing share of the world''s most vital work. Make sure your organization is ready for the challenge. If you read nothing else on nonprofits and the social sectors, read these 10 articles. We''ve combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you align your organization''s mission and strategy, deliver immediate impact, and create lasting change. This book will inspire you to: Choose the right problem to solve Understand when the best practices of for-profits don''t apply Assemble an engaged and goal-driven board of directors Make the most of for-profit initiatives and corporate partnerships Drive demand, scale up, and be ready to change course Learn from the success stories of the world''s most respected nonprofit leaders This collection of articles includes "Lofty Missions, Down-to-Earth Plans," by V. Kasturi Rangan; "What Business Can Learn from Nonprofits," by Peter F. Drucker; "Life''s Work: An Interview with Desmond Tutu"; "Are You Solving the Right Problem?" by Dwayne Spradlin; "Life''s Work: An Interview with George Mitchell"; "Enterprising Nonprofits," by J. Gregory Dees; "Life''s Work: An Interview with Wynton Marsalis"; "State Street''s CEO on Creating Employment for At-Risk Youths," by Joseph Hooley; "Life''s Work: An Interview with Salman Khan"; "Do Better at Doing Good," by V. Kasturi Rangan, Sohel Karim, and Sheryl K. Sandberg; "AEI''s President on Measuring the Impact of Ideas," by Arthur C. Brooks; "Life''s Work: An Interview with Michelle Bachelet"; "The New Work of the Nonprofit Board," by Barbara E. Taylor, Richard P. Chait, and Thomas P. Holland; "Life''s Work: An Interview with Bill T. Jones"; "Reaching the World''s Poorest Consumers," by Muhammad Yunus, Frederic Dalsace, David Menasce, and Benedicte Faivre-Tavignot; "Life''s Work: An Interview with Muhammad Yunus"; and "Audacious Philanthropy: Lessons from 15 World-Changing Initiatives," by Susan Wolf Ditkoff and Abe Grindle.

This text brings together the established pedagogy of entrepreneurship with cutting edge nonprofit and public management tools. Measuring social value, earned income, donations and government income, entrepreneurial fundraising and marketing, and social enterprise business plans. For the entrepreneur who seeks to understand the social and non-for-profit sectors.

In 1915, San Diego was dying of thirst. Desperate city officials hired Charles Hatfield, a sewing machine salesman who claimed he could summon rain using a secret chemical brew aimed at the sky. They offered him $10,000 if he could fill the Morena Reservoir. Hatfield built his towers, burned his chemicals, and waited. And then, the rain started. And it didn''t stop. In January 1916, the skies opened up in a deluge of biblical proportions. Dams burst, houses were swept away, and over 20 people died in the flooding. San Diego went from drought to disaster in weeks. When Hatfield came to collect his check, the city tried to sue him for the damages instead. "The Rainmaker" tells the bizarre true story of the boundary between science, fraud, and coincidence. Was Hatfield a meteorological genius, a lucky con artist, or simply a man in the wrong place at the right time? It is a tale of desperate municipal politics, the hubris of trying to control nature, and the wildest contract dispute in American history.

Many of us assume that the more successful we are, the less susceptible we become to the sense of professional and social irrelevance that often accompanies aging. But the truth is, the greater our achievements and our attachment to them, the more we notice our decline, and the more painful it is when it occurs.