Most of us devote a substantial percentage of our waking hours to making, spending, and having more. This desire to accumulate is natural. But when a bigger bank balance - or the things it can buy - becomes our animating purpose, disappointment generally follows.

The timing could hardly be better. After more than 25 years of virtually uninterrupted prosperity, the U.S. economy has hit a rough patch. Yet to the extent that downturns like the current one shake up the status quo and force us to reexamine our goals and priorities, they also offer enormous opportunities.

The Secret of Shelter Island provides an ideal starting point. Drawing on some of today's best minds and many of history's greatest thinkers, it is both a much-needed source of inspiration and an insightful look at the role of both money and values in the pursuit of the good life. Green explores such key questions as: How important is money in your life? What is it giving you? He discusses how to calculate your real net worth - without using a financial statement and he offers powerful insights based on a deceptively simple philosophy of life with a refreshing take on the universal principles that guide us all - or should.

The Secret of Shelter Island is full of practical wisdom. More than just a personal philosophy, it is a profound and utterly modern commentary on timeless values, the search for meaning, and what it means to be truly wealthy.