Can happiness be bought? To find out, author Benjamin Wallace sampled the world's most expensive products, including a bottle of 1947 Chateau Cheval Blanc, 8 ounces of Kobe beef and the fabled (notorious) Kopi Luwak coffee. His critique may surprise you. Benjamin Wallace is a journalist and author of The Billionaire's Vinegar, the true story of the world's most expensive bottle of (possibly phony?) wine. He's been a contributor to GQ, Details, Salon and The Washington Post.

Why you should listen

A Washington D.C. native and a current Brooklynite, Benjamin Wallace is fast establishing himself a master of the brainy nonfiction thriller, rooting up feuds and controversies in pop and less-than-pop culture while buddying up with their embattled and larger-than-life personalities (whom he sometimes meets on their way down). He profiled conserative mouthpiece Glenn Beck for GQ in 2007 shortly after the pundit landed a controversial slot on CNN, and in 2002 looked at chef Georges Perrier of Philidelphia's then-five-star restaurant, Le Bec-Fin.

Wallace's orderly, deadpan writing style hints at one of his secrets: his love (and talent) for playing the straight man to the once-mighty in downfall, right as they go aflame in tragicomic hubris. (The Billionaire's Vinegar is simply a pleasure, not least to schadenfreude junkies.) It's easy to imagine him, the bespectacled wallflower, watching as brouhaha over a wine bottle once valued at $165,000 -- the highest price fetched for a bottle, ever -- culimates in a court trial that reveals at least two of its main characters, a wine collector and a wine expert, to be frauds. Or at least emperors with no clothes.

What others say

“Ben Wallace has told a splendid story just wonderfully, his touch light and deft, his instinct pitch-perfect.” — Simon Winchester, author, The Professor and the Madman.

Sooooooo.......Rotarians........some of us have sybaritic tastes and some of us work hard for the money to feed our families and also to give back to those in need.  We may certainly enjoy ourselves, but think about what we truly value in life and the world we want to leave to the next generation.  Do you want to make a difference in this world?  Assess your lifestyle, your willingness to help others, and your willingness to celebrate special moments in life.  Is it really worth the price?  Does the experience  you have paid for really induce a feel good moment or set up others for years to come?  Don't get me wrong - we need to have special celebrations, but we also need to fulfill our drive to inspire, to create, to motivate, to make a difference. That is why we are Rotarians, so if you believe this your brain chemistry will prove it.