Description: Originally published: New York: Harper & Row, 1990.
Brief description:
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1934-2021) was a professor at Claremont Graduate University and former chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago. His books include Creativity, The Evolving Self and the national bestseller Flow.
Review Quotes:
"An intriguing look at the age-old problem of human happiness." - Library Journal
"Documents a set of scientific discoveries about human nature that actually illuminates the life experiences of all persons." - Howard Gardner, author of Frames of Mind
"Rethinks what motivates people." - Newsweek
"Flow is important....The way to happiness lies not in mindless hedonism, but in mindful challenge." - New York Times Book Review
"[A] passionate and eloquent defense...[of] intellectual as well as emotional commitment to pleasure, for society's sake as well as our own." - Booklist
"Csikszentmihalyi arrives at an insight that many of us can intuitively grasp, despite our insistent (and culturally supported) denial of this truth. That is, it is not what happens to us that determines our happiness, but the manner in which we make sense of that reality. . . . a deep cultural critique . . . the manner in which Csikszentmihalyi integrates research on consciousness, personal psychology and spirituality is illuminating." - Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Explore[s] a happy state of mind called flow, the feeling of complete engagement in a creative or playful activity" - Time magazine
"The insightful analyst Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi argues that the key to gratification is completely absorbing work--he calls it 'flow.'" - Salon.com