Al-Sa’adah: Mogaz Tarikhy, (A Brief History of Happiness), By: Nicholas White, Trans: Said Tawfik, Kuwait: Alam Al-Marifah, 2013, 220pp.

Famous Kuwaiti book series Alam Al-Marifah has just released the book of this month titled Al-Sa’adah: Mogaz Tarikhy, an Arabic translation of Nicholas White’s book A Brief History of Happiness.

The book was translated by Philosophy professor Said Tawfik, the current head of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Culture, and the former head of Cairo University's Philosophy Department.

Although the book offers an account of the notion of happiness spanning about 25 centuries, through the writings of great philosophers ranging from Plato to Nietzsche, the first pages of the book question the very concept of a history of philosophy. Despite its title, therefore, the historical aspect of the account is tackled with extreme subtlety throughout the book.

Founded in 1978, Alam Al-Marifah is a monthly book series concerned with the field of human sciences, with 43,000 copies of each release published and distributed all over the Arab world. 

Noticeable changes to Alam Al-Marifah's book designs have recently included enlarged paper size and paintings on the front covers.