When I was seventeen, I read Dale Carnegie’s classic self-help book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. Even in my youth, I knew it was packed with wisdom, but I was not ready to listen. Recently, I reread the book – and it totally holds up. As I read, I realized that I’ve spent much of the last thirty years reinventing Carnegie’s wheel. At the same time, though, I now feel able to articulate what Carnegie overstates and overlooks about the social world.
Upshot: I’d really like to share Carnegie’s classic with a modern audience, so I’m announcing a How To Win Friends and Influence People Book Club, starting a week from today. Here’s a free online copy. I plan to do the book’s four parts over four days, combining a brief summary with critical analysis. I’ll close by tackling readers’ questions the following week. Who’s in?
READER COMMENTS
Erez
Mar 30 2020 at 9:32am
Will you also be providing commentary on the testimonial section?
Ps.
What is the division of chapters
Ashley Aitken
Mar 30 2020 at 9:36am
Could you spread it out a bit? Over four weeks rather than four days? Where will the discussion be? On Twitter?
Michael
Mar 30 2020 at 9:44am
Sounds like a plan. How do I join?
Andrew
Mar 30 2020 at 9:53am
Been putting off reading this for some time. I’d welcome the opportunity to join this club!!!
Santiago Valero
Mar 30 2020 at 10:19am
I’m in.
Kyle Schutter
Mar 30 2020 at 10:59am
Sounds great! looking forward to re-reading. I really enjoyed it the first time and I think I’m ready for the second time.
Steve Fritzinger
Mar 30 2020 at 11:13am
I’m interested. What dates and times?
John Cochran
Mar 30 2020 at 11:15am
I am interested!
John McDonnell
Mar 30 2020 at 11:38am
I’m interested in your critique! Read this a few years ago, got a lot out of it. I bet it rewards a reread.
John Thacker
Mar 30 2020 at 11:39am
Ah, four parts, so you’re skipping the extra part about having a happy life at home that are generally left out of later editions? I see that it’s not in the ebook version, either.
A great book, either way. One of those books that’s almost reminiscent of Fukuyama in people’s ability to see the title and misunderstand the contents.
mark
Mar 30 2020 at 1:50pm
Finally a reason to come round to read this eternal bestseller – at least here in German it has been on bestseller-lists all my list-reading life. Thought it was either Dianetics or a real classic of self-help-c… council from the USofA: How to become a billionaire. How to become president. How to keep an ……. . Read the first part now. Nicely done. Overloaded with examples to illustrate the same point over and over. Which is big fun 20% of the time, some fun 40% of the time. And I can stomach the other 40%. But why waste that much of your reader’s time in all those self-improvement-books?!? – Admittedly, D.C. had the grace to put his points in nutshells, too. – He is much more to the point than Mr. Lowell in the “biographical stretch”: 10 pages of rags-to-riches – but where`s the meat?. – I mean, this is online. So, we are not supposed to praise but to niggle? 😉
Looking forward to the next chapters. – And I was much chummier with my little son today. Good book, that. Do economists get it? Is “honest and sincere appreciation” a scarce ressource? Does it have to be? How you put it in graphs?
Denver
Mar 30 2020 at 2:50pm
I have the book sitting on my shelf, and this sounds like the perfect excuse for finally opening it up.
Milton Kiang
Mar 30 2020 at 5:32pm
I’m in Bryan! I read that book when I was in my early teens and I guess I was too young to appreciate the content. I look forward to revisiting this book after many decades. Regards, Milton
Scott G
Mar 30 2020 at 6:27pm
Will give it a shot, but have limited time with my new homeschool duties.
Ole Henrik Vik
Mar 31 2020 at 2:50am
I’m interested, this book is great, and I’d love to hear your take on it.
Francisco Garrido
Mar 31 2020 at 8:54am
I’m interested.
Gil Kemp
Mar 31 2020 at 9:31am
I’d love to participate. Thirty years ago I co-authored a biography of Dale Carnegie after having taught his course for almost a decade. I remain a fan of him and his book.
Vishal
Mar 31 2020 at 10:21am
I started reading it yesterday. Looking forward to your summary / critical analysis.
TerriW
Apr 1 2020 at 5:26pm
Long time lurker, but I’m in.
Comments are closed.