What one reviewer at amazon said about The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia:
Modern America is obsessed with the pursuit of happiness. It is in the Declaration of Independence, after all. Supposedly, the pursuit of happiness is one of our "inalienable rights."
The brilliance of Samuel Johnson is that he understood that those who seek happiness are the very ones who will never find it. This book is all about Rasselas and his friends as they try to figure out which "choice of life" will lead to happiness.
The conclusion of the book is that no choice of life will truly make you happy in this world. Happiness only comes after death when we meet up with our Maker.
The key is to simply accept life as it comes. Do not try to find happiness. If you stop searching for happiness, you will be shocked suddenly when you realize that something like happiness has snuck into your life by the back door. How did that get there?
This profound and wise insight is written with the usual Johnsonian artistic and literary brilliance. A must read for modern people who think happiness is something you can buy.
Download Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia from Project Gutenberg
or find a hard copy