Simple Prosperity: Finding Real Wealth in a Sustainable Lifestyle | 
| Author: David Wann
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Category: Book
This item is no longer available
Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 4130
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 0312361416
Dewey Decimal Number: 306.0973
EAN: 9780312361419
ASIN: 0312361416
Publication Date: December 26, 2007
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Product Description
In his bestseller Affluenza, David Wann and his co-authors diagnosed the debilitating disease of over-consumption. In Simple Prosperity he shows readers how we can overcome this disease by investing in a variety of real wealth sources. To recapture a more abundant and sustainable lifestyle, try: - Creating a richer life story through personal growth incentives
- Forming higher-yield friendships and stronger bonds through social capital
- Taking preventive healthcare measures to build up wellness reserves
- Balancing the biological budget through “greener” currency
- Caring for people, not just cars, to improve your neighborhood wealth index
- Resolving that pesky carbon conundrum through energy savings
- Celebrating instead of desecrating! Cultural prosperity futures value the earth as a sacred place In our age of hedge fund hysteria, Simple Prosperity is a new way of investing that will save our sanity and the planet.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 A humbling perspective May 24, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I read Wann's Simple Prosperity for supplemental reading to one of my college classes. It was one of the best recommendations I've received in a long time, and I have thanked my professor for insisting that I read it.
Wann's book challenges the reader to step outside the daily onslaught of the modernist western world, one's own ego, and what we do habitually so we can grasp the things in life that truly matter: life, love, liberty, freedom to (and freedom from), community, and health. Wann, unlike most non-fiction writers, even has the courage to speak of his own personal journey and his battles with the relatives of life while trying to adhere to the absolutes of sustainability.
The most important message in this book is the hope Wann exhibits while facing the cold hard facts of his research and his experience. Instead of throwing in the towel Wann embraces the fluctuating shift in concisenesses and leaps into the evolutionary process of change.
Wann asks us to work together for the next step in conscious evolution: sustainability. He realizes the all encompassing nature of this and emulates the interdependence of all things in his writing style. Both humble and piercing, wet and dry, verbose and concise Wann speaks to the new human movement and has the audacity to envision the world that they WILL create.
 America Bashing Atheist May 23, 2008
9 out of 19 found this review helpful
I purchased this book based upon the glowing reviews here on Amazon, and now after reading as much as I could stand, I see these reviews must be from the authors friends as most have not read the book. I took this book on vacation with me as I like to read just before i drift off to sleep, As I read I was blind sided so hard deep in the book that I could not even sleep. I expect to see many of them come on here and bash my honest observation of this book and find it "not helpful" just so you know. The thing turned into this political preaching diatribe about how we need to have more community by joining moveon.org for a better life (yes that is the same organization funded by george soros the jewish billionaire who worked for the nazi's in ww2 turning in his fellow jews in austria). As a democrat I find it offensive when things masquerade as what they are not in the name of good change or whatever. I prefer simple honesty.
Ok now another thing we need to be happy according to the author is to be more spiritual and stop believing in "an archaic deity" God. The book is loaded with huge contradictions such as this. He also states and quotes other authors who prove even more how disjointed this is.
Being married is the greatest while he is divorced. (wife left him, I wonder why)
God causes unhappiness while quoting from Frankel in his fabulous book Mans Search for Meaning, a deep God believer and spiritual book of strength. I dont like being made fun of because I believe in "the archaic deity" that is hurtful and unkind to readers and he should be more tolerant of others as we live in a diverse world.
And this one I kid you not; we all need to pay much higher taxes on everything so we can all be happy together while at the same time telling us to work and earn less.
Now when I went in I knew the author would have some far out ideas about how to live a more simple life which I will outline for you so you dont have to wade through the garbage to find a morsel of useful info, but I expected the author to at least have the respect for readers to do some due diligence on his references and facts which he did not do.
Now that being said I respect the opinion of all (that seems rare these days and we need more of it) even though I do not agree with his saying how europe is great and doing everything right and America is a country living in the past with bad ideas and morals who inflict suffering on others while europeans are wonderful and we should be more like a socialist society (yes that is communism). Author repeats his bashing of Americans for having a higher standard of living than other countries. I can understand he wishes us to slim down and lighten up but jeez man over and over and over helps no one. America will most likely always have a better standard of living and to knock us down to make all countries the same is counter productive when we should strive to lift others up. Destroy the super power so europe and third world can feel better is just stupid.
I did not want to read another book on socialism, I just wanted to find some ideas I could incorporate into my life that would make it better while not having to live like a citizen of a third world country, so in a nut shell the useful things:
Stuff wont make you happy so stop buying so much of it.
The more stuff you have the more time effort and money it takes to take care of your stuff until it sucks the life out of you.
Just live the life with what you need and stop concerning yourself with all the wants of life that really dont make anything any better.
Dont worry about the jonses.
Reduce your debt load.
Get rid of the gas hog.
Look into renewable energy (author made a home made air conditioner and explains how he did it even though I bet it looks like hell sitting there: your wife will love that one.
Hey I just saved you ten bucks. I am going to recycle my book.
We all have to much crap / stuff and I am doing my part to reduce and be a better global citizen.
There are much better books out there for sure.
Charming, Delightful and Practical Read! May 13, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I sat down and read Simple Prosperity for an hour and a half when I first got it and was thoroughly charmed and delighted. I love the way David Wann uses stories about his own and other peoples' experiences to illustrate the delights of Simple Prosperity. It is such a positive philosophy and so very earthwise. I didn't want to quit reading and go back to work. I think this book is the perfect antidote to the sense of malaise about the future that most of my friends and family have been expressing of late. The sensible, practical ideas for living a simplier, more responsible yet personally rewarding life are really appealing.
Should Be Required Reading April 30, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book should be required reading for every high school and college student and adult "book club" in America for the wealth of information it contains about real, profound, life-changing prosperity as opposed to the fleeting, instant gratification of the American consumption-driven lifestyle. It certainly won't change everyone's thinking -- advertisers are shrewd enough to see to that -- but it will plant the seeds of cognitive dissonance in a great many minds, and that's the kind of thing that can really cause a tipping-point kind of sea change. Highly recommended.
 Not Bad But April 29, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I did like this book, truly. But as someone who isn't afflicted with Affluenza, who lives relatively simply currently, it didn't have as many good ideas as i would like. Many of the big ideas are geared toward homeowners and are not really applicable to apartment dwellers (i don't have a lawn i can grow food in or string a clothesline across, i have no control over what i get if one of my appliances goes out) and many of the smaller ideas i am already doing (buying CFL bulbs, going to the Farmer's Market). This is one that should be required reading for any city planner or someone looking to buy a home though.
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