Publisher's Synopsis
Warning This is an independent addition to How to Win Friends and Influence People, meant to enhance your experience of the original book. If you have not yet bought the original copy, make sure to purchase it before buying this unofficial summary from aBookaDay. INTRODUCTION There can be little confusion as to why How to Win Friends and Influence People has remained an iconic instruction manual for life for over 70 years. To any who would accuse Dale Carnegie of writing a book about how to manipulate people, they must only look to the number of times words like "sincere" and "genuine" appear within its text. This is not a book about how to close a business deal or how to get someone to do something they do not want to do. Instead, this is a book about how to improve the quality of your life and the lives of those around you. More than ever, people are in need of help in the fine art of human relations. With social media constantly limiting the amount of face-to-face interaction we have with other human beings, this book reminds us that forging friendships and brightening up the lives of other people can only occur through conscious effort. In many ways, this book helps people answer the question, "Why am I unhappy and dissatisfied with my work/family/life?" This is not necessarily an easy book to live by. Many people will find themselves questioning the validity of Carnegie's words. But even if people make an effort to apply one or two of these principles in their daily life, they will undoubtedly find their day much improved. So go into these pages with an open mind and an open heart, and prepare to rethink all you know about dealing with people. PREFACE The pride Dorothy Carnegie takes in her late husband's success with How to Win Friends and Influence People is very much evident in her preface to the 1981 version. Dorothy explains how a book published in 1937, starting out at 5,000 copies, became an overnight sensation, far outstripping the expectations of its author and publishers alike. Dale Carnegie had done exactly what he advises his readers to do in Part Three of Chapter One: he aroused in them an eager want to learn from him the fine art of human relations. The book carried on influencing its readers through the next four decades, until 1981, twenty years after Dale's death, when Dorothy and the original publishers decided to revise it. When asked why she would allow such a revision - indeed, why she would allow anyone to tamper with a success of this magnitude - Dorothy replies that it is what Dale would have done himself if he were still alive. She explains that her husband was constantly revising his own work and tailoring his message to reach new generations of audiences year after year. The references and anecdotes in the 1937 version were highly appropriate and effective for its readership at the time, but over 40 years later, the book needed a modern perspective. Therefore, Dorothy allowed the book to be refreshed, clarified and strengthened by a revision, while always allowing Dale's "brash, breezy" style to shine through. Available on PC, Mac, smart phone, tablet or Kindle device. (c) 2015 All Rights Reserved
