
The Happiest Man on Earth
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $16.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Jacek Koman
-
By:
-
Eddie Jaku
About this listen
WINNER OF THE ABIA BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR 2021
Life can be beautiful if you make it beautiful. It is up to you.
Eddie Jaku always considered himself a German first, a Jew second. He was proud of his country. But all of that changed in November 1938, when he was beaten, arrested and taken to a concentration camp.
Over the next seven years, Eddie faced unimaginable horrors every day, first in Buchenwald, then in Auschwitz, then on a Nazi death march. He lost family, friends, his country.
Because he survived, Eddie made the vow to smile every day. He pays tribute to those who were lost by telling his story, sharing his wisdom and living his best possible life. He now believes he is the 'happiest man on earth'.
Published as Eddie turns 100, this is a powerful, heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful memoir of how happiness can be found even in the darkest of times.
Now featuring an inspiring new Afterword
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ABA NIELSEN BOOK BOOKSELLERS' CHOICE - ADULT NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021
SHORTLISTED FOR THE INDIE BOOK AWARDS FOR NON-FICTION 2021
LONGLISTED FOR MATT RICHELL AWARD FOR NEW WRITER OF THE YEAR 2021
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Win Your Inner Battles
- Defeat the Enemy Within and Live with Purpose
- By: Darius Foroux
- Narrated by: Darius Foroux
- Length: 2 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Do you want to change your career? Start a business? Stop losing sleep over a deadline? End your relationship? Or maybe, just live a fulfilling life? Everyone has goals and ambitions in life. But we often don't pursue our inner desires because of one thing: fear and a lack of self-confidence. In Win Your Inner Battles, I will show you how to destroy fear and live your life with a sense of purpose.
-
-
So so
- By Cristina Wheeler on 03-31-25
By: Darius Foroux
-
Lily's Promise
- Holding On to Hope Through Auschwitz and Beyond—A Story for All Generations
- By: Lily Ebert, Dov Forman
- Narrated by: Charles HRH The Prince of Wales, Lily Ebert, Dov Forman, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On Yom Kippur, 1944, fighting to stay alive as a prisoner in Auschwitz, Lily Ebert made a promise to herself. She would survive the hell she was in and tell the world her story, for everyone who couldn’t. Now, at ninety-eight, this remarkable woman—and TikTok sensation, thanks to the help of her eighteen-year-old great-grandson—fulfills that vow, relaying the details of her harrowing experiences with candor, charm, and an overflowing heart.
-
-
Narration is everything
- By S. Rosen on 06-02-22
By: Lily Ebert, and others
-
The Last Lecture
- By: Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow
- Narrated by: Erik Singer, Randy Pausch
- Length: 4 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave - "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" - wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have... and you may find one day that you have less than you think").
-
-
How to Live
- By Kelli G on 04-21-08
By: Randy Pausch, and others
-
Be Useful
- Seven Tools for Life
- By: Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Narrated by: Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world’s greatest bodybuilder. The world’s highest-paid movie star. The leader of the world’s sixth-largest economy. That these are the same person sounds like the setup to a joke, but this is no joke. This is Arnold Schwarzenegger. And this did not happen by accident. Arnold’s stratospheric success happened as part of a process. As the result of clear vision, big thinking, hard work, direct communication, resilient problem-solving, open-minded curiosity, and a commitment to giving back. All of it guided by the one lesson Arnold’s father hammered into him above all: be useful.
-
-
A Clear Concise picture of vision and purpose
- By Empress Karen on 10-10-23
-
Tuesdays with Morrie
- 20th Anniversary Edition
- By: Mitch Albom
- Narrated by: Mitch Albom
- Length: 3 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it.
-
-
Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live
- By AudioAddict on 04-17-16
By: Mitch Albom
-
The Choice
- Escaping the Past and Embracing the Possible
- By: Dr. Edith Eva Eger
- Narrated by: Tovah Feldshuh
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A powerful, moving memoir - and a practical guide to healing - written by Dr. Edith Eva Eger, an eminent psychologist whose own experiences as a Holocaust survivor help her treat patients and allow them to escape the prisons of their own minds. The Choice weaves Eger's personal story with case studies from her work as a psychologist. Her patients and their stories illustrate different phases of healing and show how people can choose to escape the prisons they construct in their minds and find freedom, regardless of circumstance.
-
-
One Of The Most Powerful Books I Have Read in My Lifetime!
- By R. F. Wood on 05-11-18
-
Win Your Inner Battles
- Defeat the Enemy Within and Live with Purpose
- By: Darius Foroux
- Narrated by: Darius Foroux
- Length: 2 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Do you want to change your career? Start a business? Stop losing sleep over a deadline? End your relationship? Or maybe, just live a fulfilling life? Everyone has goals and ambitions in life. But we often don't pursue our inner desires because of one thing: fear and a lack of self-confidence. In Win Your Inner Battles, I will show you how to destroy fear and live your life with a sense of purpose.
-
-
So so
- By Cristina Wheeler on 03-31-25
By: Darius Foroux
-
Lily's Promise
- Holding On to Hope Through Auschwitz and Beyond—A Story for All Generations
- By: Lily Ebert, Dov Forman
- Narrated by: Charles HRH The Prince of Wales, Lily Ebert, Dov Forman, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On Yom Kippur, 1944, fighting to stay alive as a prisoner in Auschwitz, Lily Ebert made a promise to herself. She would survive the hell she was in and tell the world her story, for everyone who couldn’t. Now, at ninety-eight, this remarkable woman—and TikTok sensation, thanks to the help of her eighteen-year-old great-grandson—fulfills that vow, relaying the details of her harrowing experiences with candor, charm, and an overflowing heart.
-
-
Narration is everything
- By S. Rosen on 06-02-22
By: Lily Ebert, and others
-
The Last Lecture
- By: Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow
- Narrated by: Erik Singer, Randy Pausch
- Length: 4 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave - "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" - wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have... and you may find one day that you have less than you think").
-
-
How to Live
- By Kelli G on 04-21-08
By: Randy Pausch, and others
-
Be Useful
- Seven Tools for Life
- By: Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Narrated by: Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world’s greatest bodybuilder. The world’s highest-paid movie star. The leader of the world’s sixth-largest economy. That these are the same person sounds like the setup to a joke, but this is no joke. This is Arnold Schwarzenegger. And this did not happen by accident. Arnold’s stratospheric success happened as part of a process. As the result of clear vision, big thinking, hard work, direct communication, resilient problem-solving, open-minded curiosity, and a commitment to giving back. All of it guided by the one lesson Arnold’s father hammered into him above all: be useful.
-
-
A Clear Concise picture of vision and purpose
- By Empress Karen on 10-10-23
-
Tuesdays with Morrie
- 20th Anniversary Edition
- By: Mitch Albom
- Narrated by: Mitch Albom
- Length: 3 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it.
-
-
Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live
- By AudioAddict on 04-17-16
By: Mitch Albom
-
The Choice
- Escaping the Past and Embracing the Possible
- By: Dr. Edith Eva Eger
- Narrated by: Tovah Feldshuh
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A powerful, moving memoir - and a practical guide to healing - written by Dr. Edith Eva Eger, an eminent psychologist whose own experiences as a Holocaust survivor help her treat patients and allow them to escape the prisons of their own minds. The Choice weaves Eger's personal story with case studies from her work as a psychologist. Her patients and their stories illustrate different phases of healing and show how people can choose to escape the prisons they construct in their minds and find freedom, regardless of circumstance.
-
-
One Of The Most Powerful Books I Have Read in My Lifetime!
- By R. F. Wood on 05-11-18
-
When Breath Becomes Air
- By: Paul Kalanithi, Abraham Verghese - foreword
- Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra, Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated.
-
-
Phenomenal book!
- By A. Potter on 01-16-16
By: Paul Kalanithi, and others
-
The Alchemist
- A Fable About Following Your Dream
- By: Paulo Coelho
- Narrated by: Jeremy Irons
- Length: 4 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paulo Coelho's enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world. This story, dazzling in its simplicity and wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an Alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest.
-
-
A Timeless Tale
- By Judi on 01-07-07
By: Paulo Coelho
-
Ikigai
- The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life
- By: Héctor García, Francesc Miralles
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 3 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bring meaning and joy to all your days with this internationally best-selling guide to the Japanese concept of ikigai - the happiness of always being busy - as revealed by the daily habits of the world's longest-living people.
-
-
Not insightful but inspirational
- By A. Yoshida on 02-27-18
By: Héctor García, and others
-
The Gift
- 14 Lessons to Save Your Life
- By: Dr. Edith Eva Eger
- Narrated by: Tovah Feldshuh
- Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World renowned psychologist and internationally bestselling author Edith Eger’s powerful New York Times bestselling book The Choice told the story of her survival in the concentration camps, her escape, healing, and journey to freedom. Eger’s second book, The Gift, expands on her message of healing and provides a hands-on guide that gently encourages listeners to change the thoughts and behaviors that may be keeping them imprisoned in the past.
-
-
A Path Forward
- By Guy on 09-24-20
-
Good Vibes, Good Life
- How Self-Love Is the Key to Unlocking Your Greatness
- By: Vex King
- Narrated by: Kaushal
- Length: 4 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Discover the power of self-love and transform your life with beloved spiritual teacher Vex King, as featured on The Sunday Times' Top 100 bestselling books of the past 50 years in the UK.
-
-
Insipid. Absolutely rehashed
- By Ljw on 04-22-21
By: Vex King
-
The Courage to Be Disliked
- How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life, and Achieve Real Happiness
- By: Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga
- Narrated by: Noah Galvin, Graeme Malcolm, January LaVoy
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Courage to Be Disliked, already an enormous best seller in Asia with more than 3.5 million copies sold, demonstrates how to unlock the power within yourself to be the person you truly want to be. Using the theories of Alfred Adler, one of the three giants of 20th-century psychology, The Courage to Be Disliked follows an illuminating conversation between a philosopher and a young man. The philosopher explains to his pupil how each of us is able to determine our own life, free from the shackles of past experiences, doubts, and the expectations of others.
-
-
Life Changing
- By Sil A. on 09-30-18
By: Ichiro Kishimi, and others
-
Five Chimneys
- A Woman Survivor's True Story of Auschwitz
- By: Olga Lengyel
- Narrated by: Jennifer Wydra
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Olga Lengyel tells, frankly and without compromise, one of the most horrifying stories of all time. This true, documented chronicle is the intimate, day-to-day record of a beautiful woman who survived the nightmare of Auschwitz and Birchenau. This book is a necessary reminder of one of the ugliest chapters in the history of human civilization.
-
-
Five Chimneys
- By Grannie Annie on 04-03-19
By: Olga Lengyel
-
The Stable Boy of Auschwitz
- By: Henry Oster, Dexter Ford
- Narrated by: William Hope, Susan Oster, Dexter Ford, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One hot, humid day in July 1944, the Gestapo abducted 15-year-old Henry and his mother, forcing them onto cramped cattle cars in the Łódź Polish Ghetto. Like so many Jews before them, they had been selected to disappear–they were being sent to Auschwitz.
-
-
Incredible
- By Kindle Customer on 04-30-23
By: Henry Oster, and others
-
Beneath a Scarlet Sky
- A Novel
- By: Mark Sullivan
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 17 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He's a normal Italian teenager - obsessed with music, food, and girls - but his days of innocence are numbered. When his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs, Pino joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps, and falls for Anna, a beautiful widow six years his senior. In an attempt to protect him, Pino's parents force him to enlist as a German soldier - a move they think will keep him out of combat.
-
-
The Best Thing? It Really Happened!
- By Chip Atkinson on 08-07-17
By: Mark Sullivan
-
Yes to Life
- In Spite of Everything
- By: Viktor E. Frankl, Daniel Goleman - introduction
- Narrated by: Joelle Young, David Rintoul
- Length: 3 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eleven months after he was liberated from the Nazi concentration camps, Viktor E. Frankl held a series of public lectures in Vienna. The psychiatrist, who would soon become world famous, explained his central thoughts on meaning, resilience, and the importance of embracing life even in the face of great adversity. Published here for the very first time in English, Frankl's words resonate as strongly today as they did in 1946. He offers an insightful exploration of the maxim "Live as if you were living for the second time".
-
-
Extraordinary story of courage
- By Gail D. on 05-08-20
By: Viktor E. Frankl, and others
-
The Hero Code
- Lessons Learned from Lives Well Lived
- By: Admiral William H. McRaven
- Narrated by: Admiral William H. McRaven
- Length: 2 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the acclaimed number-one New York Times best-selling author of Make Your Bed - a short, inspirational book about the qualities of true everyday heroes.
-
-
Even better than Make Your Bed
- By Anonymous User on 04-17-21
-
The Book of Lost Friends
- A Novel
- By: Lisa Wingate
- Narrated by: Sophie Amoss, Sullivan Jones, Robin Miles, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the best-selling author of Before We Were Yours comes a dramatic historical novel of three young women searching for family amid the destruction of the post-Civil War South, and of a modern-day teacher who learns of their story and its vital connection to her students’ lives.
-
-
I want more!!!
- By Mrstlg on 04-11-20
By: Lisa Wingate
Critic reviews
"This simple, moving account of a remarkable life offers plenty to think about and reflect on...Highly recommended." (Canberra Weekly)
"I have never met Eddie Jaku, but having read his book I feel like I have made a new friend...This is a beautiful book by a truly amazing man." (Daily Telegraph)
"A reminder of the power of love, kindness and hope...A life-affirming story, beautifully told." (Sydney Morning Herald)
What listeners say about The Happiest Man on Earth
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 12-31-20
A must for everyone to hear
A harrowing story with lessons that everyone can heed. Fantastically written and performed. Very much recommend.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- debbie
- 09-11-20
should be 10 stars
A hopeful book for such a dark time. Excellent , wish it was longer. Worth the credit
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- mathew
- 07-06-22
exceptional experience
love ,family , persistence, courage
I am grateful to have listened to the man's life
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 03-15-21
Wonderful inspiring true life story
I've never before heard of the terrible suffering of the Jews, disabled and human misfits as deemed in the Nazi Germany, in such passionate and truely horrific detail. Many other cruel events have happened before and since the holocaust, but the holocaust is a modern day event that must never be forgotten. Thank you Eddie Jaku for creating an enduring memory for us all.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joshua
- 06-09-21
Goodness me!
I've read a few holocaust survivour books, this one is arguably the best.
The reason, for me it takes the listener full circle through the emotional spectrum.
Very good listen, worth the credit for sure!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rachelle Leslie
- 08-16-22
Inspiring & heartfelt!
It took me 2 days to listen to this book! Eddie is a pleasure to listen too - some of the stories are horrifying but Eddies attitude and perseverance is inspiring! A truly incredible man with a very important message!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Oltimer
- 08-26-22
The last 2 chapters are the key
For me I could only appreciate the message of kindness and Eddies life story after hearing the last two chapters. The horrors of holocaust were not in my focus when reading this book as I studied this material before. I reached for this book for insights on how he overcame the traumas. Only after reading the last two chapters the gaps in comprehension of his wisdom were filled. I would have loved to know more about his journey.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Infragelis
- 08-20-20
As good as it gets - 6 stars
Resilient. Loving. Graceful. Tragic. Loving. Memorable. Beautiful. This book truly is life changing. Simply breathtaking. What a gentleman.
This should be compulsory reading in schools.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- George
- 03-13-21
Makes one appreciate what we take for granted
Powerful story and a profound message. Makes you stop to smell the coffee and reflect on your own life. History as told by the people who were there is extremely insightful and powerful. I am so glad I read this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jean Soh
- 11-06-22
Inspiring and moving
A book that reached deep into my heart, a history we should never forget and a reminder of what it takes to make the world a better place, start with “kindness”
A message that I will hold in my heart, “Do not live in anger and hatred”
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!