Preface ix

Introduction xi

PART ONE: A WEALTH OF GRATITUDE 1

A Message from the Land of the Unwell 3

The Reason You Should Be Biased 7

What We Live to Discover 11

Like No Other Nation in the World 15

How to Put a Touch of Glory in Your Life 19

The Greatest Star of Them All 22

The Man Who Invented Christmas 26

Do You Know Where You Are? 29

The Mind-Boggling Universe, Part II 32

The Best That Has Been Thought and Said 35

A Titan for Freedom and Prosperity 39

The Great Key to Successful Living 43

What You Can Learn from “The Gadfl y of Athens” 46

The True Rulers of the Planet 50

Confessions of an Analog Man 54

How to Be Miserable in One Easy Lesson 58

For Music Lovers Only 61

PART TWO: A WEALTH OF WISDOM 65

Where Can Wisdom Be Found? 69

Discovering a New Sense of the Sacred 73

The Cash Value of the American Mind 76

The Key to Civility … and Greatness 79

How to Defeat Death 83

The Sage Who Spoke to Everyman 86

The Greatest Best Seller of All Time 90

The Pursuit of Moral Perfection 94

How Apple Got Its Zen 97

The Secret of “Big-Ass Salads” 101

Take a Vacation Inside Your Head 107

The Biggest Question of Them All 111

A Requiem for an Atheist 115

The Nation’s Most Misunderstood Man 120

Why Grant’s Final Victory Was His Greatest 124

The Other Freedom Document of 1776 129

The Right Man at the Right Time 134

The Most Powerful Thing You Can Do for Your Body 137

The “Howling Atheist” Who Governed the Country 143

PART THREE: A WEALTH OF UNDERSTANDING 149

Why You Love and Need the Rat Race 153

How to Live the “Good Life” 156

Nassim Nicholas Taleb … and the Pursuit of Phronesis 159

The Gift a Man Gives Himself 162

A Billionaire’s Best Advice 165

The Lost Art of Conversation 168

A Visit Everyone Should Make 172

The Man Who Made Dreams Come True 176

How to Talk Politics without Committing Murder 180

The True Secret of Success 184

How to Be a Big Loser 188

Three Words That Will Save Your Life 193

Are You Awake? 196

The One Factor That Changes Everything 200

The Lies We Tell Ourselves 205

How the First Americans Became Last 208

The Top Five Regrets of the Dying 213

A Short Lesson in Humility 217

Afterword 219

Further Reading 223

About the Author 227

Index 229