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Summary: Danger of Inauthenticity and Narcissism
Review: YES, this classic book "works" for improving some aspects of your interpersonal interactions. Just be careful of the dangers, becoming insincere or phony to lose yourself, or becoming a narcissist who treats other people as objects and exploits them. A more human approach to social life is found in self-help shyness books, such as the Gift of Shyness and My Shyness, My Self. As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for.
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Summary: First 'success' book I ever read
Review: This was the first book that I ever read dealing with the area of personal success. The title put me off a little at first, but once I started reading it I couldn't stop. Most everyone knows this is an all time classic and although it was originally written many years ago, it's lessons are as important today as ever before. With the Information Age rushing in, it will be very important for us to maintain a balance between high tech and high touch. This book is still the best I've ever read on relating to others. If you'd like to enhance the relationships in your life (work, school, family, friends, etc.) then you need this book!
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Summary: Great knowledge for life
Review: This is such a great book. It is an easy reader with great examples and stories. Dale Carnegie is truly talented. I have read this book over and over because each time you get something out of it. It teaches you excellent listening and communication skills
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Summary: This old chestnut is as applicable today as it ever was.
Review: Although this book has been around for sometime, the principles are still applicable. The author's breezy style seems odd these days but adds warmth and charm. I attended training 5 years ago based largely on this book and Dale's other books, listened to the audio version and read the book. My manager at the time did not recommend it, even though his boss required all of his reports to take this training. I am glad I took it -- for me it was just what I needed. Much will seem like common sense (or will become so for the reader), however I found a couple of insights quite revealing (that people like to be treated as people rather than roles, that everybody likes to feel important and loves the sound of their own name) and very useful. Even the more obviously points act as good reminders. This book is *NOT* about tricking, hypnotizing or otherwise manipulating people unethically -- on the contrary, it is about understanding and getting along with people. I prefer to work with people who have taken this training because they are easier to work with. This book is still in print because it is useful and readable.
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Summary: I agree with all the reviews
Review: I agree with all the reviews. The two best self help books out there that are life changing are How To Win Friends And Influence People and The Little Guide To Happiness.
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Summary: How To Be Superficial and Manipulate People
Review: If you're planning a career in politics, sales or marketing then this book is for you. Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" does offer some good points on how to interact and deal with people in the business world but the techniques, if you will, are very self-serving and superficial.Although I found HTWFAIP interesting reading, I also thought it was a shallow and dated piece of work. Carnegie gives a lot of anecdotes to reinforce his points but I found some of them impractical and absurd. For example, in one case he talks about striking up a conversation with a haggard postal worker and how he "made his day" by complementing him on the thickness of his hair. To me, that was a rather gratuitous remark as it sounded a bit insincere. Carnegie wrote this book back in the 1930s. A time when America was in the midst of the Great Depression and the expression of the day was "brother, can you spare a dime?" The '30s and '40s were a period of great hardship for this country and if wanted to survive, we had to come together and get this country back on its feet. So, naturally, people were more inclined to be helpful and considerate. Back then, business interactions were more personal and to a degree, even ethical. But nowadays, it's every man for himself and the way to interact with people is by impersonal means: faxes, email, teleconferences, etc. Consequently, getting to know people is more challenging than ever. Carnegie's techniques may have worked well for early and mid-twentieth century America but in our impersonal, techno-driven, global business world, a lot of these techniques fall short. Our society has become more cynical and selfish. We live in a society that preaches self-fulfillment at the expense of having meaningful relationships with our families, friends and coworkers. Advertising and marketing feed into our sense of vanity and they are the vehicles that drive our self-centered, hedonistic culture. Consequently, it is more difficult than ever to connect and interact with people on a personal level. These and other larger issues concerning human interaction are not addressed in Carnegie's book and as such, HTWFAIP should not be relied upon as a "primer" for dealing with people. If you really want to learn to how to successfully interact with your fellow man, read your Bible. There's a lot in there and if you study it carefully, you will learn more about interacting and being at peace with your fellow man than you will in reading Carnegie's book. Not only that, but it's stood the test of time far longer than Carnegie's book has.
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Summary: A Classic
Review: Although this book was written many years ago, it has content that can definitely help people today. I enjoyed many of the lessons and examples in the book that can help you understand how to further your career and enhance your personal life through your interactions with others. This book should be read periodically over and over again to remind you the different ways of getting ahead in life (giving sincere appreciation to others, the significance of smiling, remembering birthdays, the importance of a person's name, the implications of criticism, finding out what others want in order to get what you want, etc). I'd also recommend the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad which, like this book, gives you an interesting view and good advice overall on how to be successful in life. Buy How to Win Friends and Influence People if you want to learn and practice things that most others don't, but wish they knew or had. Ever wanted respect, admiration, appreciation, and to feel important in life? Buy this book to learn how! It truly is a classic.
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Summary: A CLASSIC AND A FAVORITE
Review: Two of my favorite books of all time are the classic, "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and the newer "The Little Guide To Happiness". My Dad bought me How To Win Friends when I was a teenager and it changed my life. I bought it for my son later in life. And my teen son, introduced me to "The little Guide To Happiness". This is the kind of book you pass from generation to generation. There are only a few books like these around. I suppose "Love" by Leo Buscaglia could also go in this catagory.
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Summary: A "Classic" Despised
Review: I was recommended this book by a fellow professional as a must-read. His boss was a strong believer in the theories presented in this book and found it useful to read and re-read this book. In fact, I am probably the target market for this book as a person who needs to develop his social interaction skills and leadership style. While I find the study of influence and leadership fascinating, I am not interested in this book. I found this book to be extremely annoying. The book is essentially a string of anecdotes that the author uses to illustrate his points - techniques for managing people, getting people to like you, influencing people, and being a leader. There really aren't any facts behind the material. You either take to it or you don't. In this field of study, I personally enjoyed Cialdini's Influence: Science and Practice much more. It offers a better balance between the academic/scientific evidence and anecdotes which illustrates the principle.
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Summary: A great way to apply what you learned in Psychology 101
Review: Dale Carnegie has a style of writing that's reminiscent of Paul Harvey's "Rest of the Story" radio pieces. Short interesting stories of an anonymous individual performing some virtuous act. The stories climax when we realize that the anonymous person is someone famous like Abraham Lincoln, Charles Schwab or Theodore Roosevelt. There's not much need to highlight this text as Carnegie summarizes his main "principle" at the end of each chapter, then again at the end of each unit. I enjoyed this book because Carnegie can take profound ethical ideas and turn them into digestible nuggets of practical advice. For example he quotes William James as saying "the deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated, "as reason why to use his first principle in handling people -- Don't criticize, condemn or complain. Lao-tse said, "The reason why rivers and seas receive the homage of a hundred mountain streams is that they keep below them-so too should the sage. Dale Carnegie says, "Use Principle 7: Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers. Like many principles of human behavior Carnegie's seem like common sense: Show respect for others opinions: Never say "You're wrong." Others seem so obvious: a person's name is the most important thing to them. And yet others are down right counterintuitive: Ask Questions instead of giving orders to get someone to do what you want. It's Carnegie's ability to weave the overlooked, obvious and counterintuitive into stories we all can relate to that make his books still popular after all these decades.
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