Handbook Reviews

Character Strengths and Virtues is a highly original book and destined to become a classic—both in the social sciences and in the humanities.
- George E. Vaillant, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and Director of Research for the Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital

Peterson and Seligman's endeavor to focus on human strengths and virtues is one of the most important initiatives in psychology of the past half century. I am pleased to have had the opportunity to make a small contribution to this paradigm-changing effort.
- Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor of Education and Cognition, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Peterson and Seligman's Character Strengths and Virtues adds a needed balance to the psychological literature. Topics such as character and virtue have too long been only in the domains of moral philosophy and politics. This work provides a needed psychological foundation for studying some of the attributes that are most important to a world that is foundering on the shoals of wars, terrorism, and atrocities. I recommend the book very highly.
- Robert J. Sternberg, IBM Professor of Psychology and Education, Yale University; Director, Center for the Psychology of Abilities, Competencies, and Expertise (PACE Center), Yale University; Past President, American Psychological Association

Not since Skinner have psychologists been so bold as to suggest a science of human character and virtue. The chapters in this volume show the power of being scientifically proactive about characteristics we normally see as beyond the reach of science. The book manages to be both deeply informative and, in each chapter, genuinely inspiring. My hope is that it will transport scientific psychology into fields of discourse that have rarely considered it before.
- Claude Steele, Ph.D., Chair and Professor, Psychology Department, Stanford University