Rating: 
Summary: "Doing unto others as you would have others do unto you"
Review: "How to Win Friends, and Influence people", written more than 50 years ago, has established it self as the classic book on how to get along with people, make people like you, how to get your ideas across without friction and how to change peoples behaviour and attitude effectively. The author Dale Carnegie, spent the greater proportion of his life refining and bettering his courses on Interpersonal Relations, this book was the first book ever written on the subject, and it sprung from many years of research and practical tests of principles which successful men and women use and had used in interpersonal relations through history to their advantage.
The book is organized in four parts, namely:
Fundamental Techniques in Handling People:
- Don't criticize, condemn or complain.
- Give honest and sincere appreciation.
- Arouse in the other person an eager want.
Six Ways to Make People Like You:
- Become genuinely interested in other people.
- Smile.
- Remember that a persons name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
- Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
- Talk in terms of the other person's interests.
- Make the other person feel important, and do it sincerely.
How to Win People to Your Way of Thinking:
- The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.
- Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say, "You are Wrong."
- If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
- Begin in a friendly way.
- Get the other person saying "yes, yes" immediately.
- Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
- Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.
- Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view.
- Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires.
- Appeal to the nobler motives.
- Dramatize your ideas.
- Throw down a challenge.
Be a leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment
- Begin with praise and honest appreciation
- Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly
- Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person
- Ask questions instead of giving direct orders
- Let the other person save face
- Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be "Hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise."
- Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
- Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
- Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.
Every principle is backed up by stories and examples of famous people, great leaders and the author himself showing how the principle in question was used to their advantage, and also showing the negative consequences of situations where the principles were neglected. The author writes in probably the same manner as he spoke, in an intensively exuberant, colloquial, conversational manner.
I regard this book to be on of the most important I have ever read regarding Interpersonal Relations, and as the author states in the beginning chapter "15 percent of one's financial success is due to one's technical knowledge and about 85 percent is due to skill in human engineering, to personality and the ability to lead people.". Personally I think the figures are much higher than that, but in either case this book can change ones life immensely to the better if used and applied. I encourage everybody regardless of their current situation to read this book, if they have not already, and if they have to read it again.
It is truly a classic worth reading!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best self help books of all time
Review: and one of the few I have found useful. This book can really give you a new perspective on your problems and life in general. Sometimes Dale Carnegie's advice is much more practical and at the same time also so much more inspiring than the modern self-help gurus. For example, one of my favorite bits of advice from Dale Carnegie goes something like this: a man who was aging and wanted to get his medical degree and become a doctor, he told Dale about this saying, "Dale, I want to become a doctor, it's always been a dream of mine, but I'm 40 years old now, I'm afraid I'm just too old to become a doctor, by the time I got my medical degree 8 years from now, I would be 48 years old!", to which Dale replied. "Yes, but if you don't do it, you'll be 48 years old anyway!" I thought that was just great! Some of the best advice I've ever heard, I have the same problem, thinking I'm too old to do what I want to do and persue my dreams, but that little story made me realize its NOT true! This book definately deserves 5 stars!
Rating: 
Summary: Unsurprising... the golden rule has been around for ages!
Review: At the end of the Great Depression, Dale Carnegie wrote one of the benchmark self-help books of American literary history. He encapsulated the formula to "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" in the midst of a market downturn, to put it mildly. His title, How to Win Friends and Influence People, was probably used to win and influence book sales rather than cleverly and accurately describe the content of his book. Simply, it is a misnomer. With chapters on considerate social intercourse and sincerely understanding the opponent's point of view, he is a herald of the golden rule. But Carnegie gives you a 10 step program to follow (the Ten Commandments must have been too vague).
I guess the whole idea is that when you are agreeable, intellectual, considerate, proper, quick, thoughtful and strong, people will go out of their way to be nice to you and do you favors. That social axiom is my particular beef with self-help books in general. But of all self-help authors, Carnegie outlines it fairly and motivationally. He must have been a courageously dynamic speaker-he sold his seminars for a thousand a pop, back then! But with uninterrupted sales since the late 30s and over 15 million copies sold worldwide, Carnegie's book is well worth the read...or the skim.
Rating:
Summary: principles stand the test of time
Review: First published in 1937, this book is the result of 15 years of Dale Carnegie's research in human relations. When learned and applied, these 30 timeless principles will help you become more likable and influential in others' lives. Millions of copies of this book have sold because the principles are basic and proven. Sure, some of the language is dated. Many of the characters and companies mentioned in these pages are no longer household names. Look beyond those quirks and you will find some of the most memorable and applicable people skills material ever produced. With simple presentation and vivid examples, Carnegie deftly walks us through Fundamental Techniques in Handling People, Six Ways to Make People Like You, How to Win People to Your Way of Thinking, and How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment. When material is this old and this good, it could sometimes be considered trite and nothing more than common knowledge. Don't fall into that trap. Until its principles become common practice in our lives, this book is just as necessary and effective today as it was more than six decades ago. Larry Hehn, author of Get the Prize: Nine Keys for a Life of Victory
Rating:
Summary: Real Psychology 101
Review: Forget the Psychology you learned in college, don't be drawn in by the mushiness of Dr. Phil's advice. How to Win Friends and Influence People, gives excellent insight into what makes other people tick, and more importantly it reminds us why we tick. The advice is not complicated, but it does require practice and review. The best thing about the book is that it is full of advice that we already know, but just don't practice. A good portion of the book centers on putting yourself in someone else's shoes and seeing it from their perspective. It talks about how must people consider themselves to be honest hard working people no matter how bad or negatively society views them.
It speaks about how important it is to allow people to save face in confrontations, what it means to have good manners, and a no nonsense approach to what motivates people.
The information in the book is timeless and tested. It is useful not only for business, but even in your personal relationships, because it focuses on improving the communication channels between people.
Arguments: Of all of the aspects of the book, the section on arguments and confrontation holds the most value. Essential the books says that you never really when an argument, because even if you are right, the other party is going to be injured, always allow the other party to save face says the book. One of the most important single paragraphs in the book is when confronted with an argument or confrontation say, "I maybe be wrong because I frequently am, let's exam the facts." I cannot count the times this has cooled a heated discussion, chiefly because it removes any hostile edge the other party may have about you.
You can't go wrong with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Something people must admit
Review: Having not read the entire book, I do not possess the privilige to make any final verdicts or claims. Yet from what I have read so far, everything is not only presented in plain English, but the materials are also surprsingly informative.However I will have to say that most of the suggestions and principles are probably not unheard of though, and they are not anything fundamentally revolutionary. But it does serve a purpose, it is good to be reminded sometimes. I'm pretty sure that not all of us incoporate all these principles or even bear them in mind when we submerge ourself into this crowded society. Constantly reviewing the topics covered by the book can keep ourselves alarmed on how to behave when dealing with others. While not trying to be disrespectful, I would like to politely ask those handful of individuals who crticized the book with harsh terms for "Wasting their time, and not teaching them anything" to once again... peruse this outstanding piece of literature with great care, and see what it has to say about....
Rating:
Summary: Timeless
Review: I read the book about 20 years ago and just re-read it again. The lessons apply today as they did 70+ years ago when they were originally written. If you want to learn how to deal with people and how to get ahead in life then this book is a requirement. I also read another book recently that's worth mentioning called Stop Working by Rohan Hall. It's a great book for those with an entrepreneural mind who want to learn how to become wealthy.
Rating:
Summary: Great book, never dated
Review: I read this book 15 years ago and the messages have stuck. This is the best book I have read on dealing with people.
Rating:
Summary: It is like Bible to me!
Review: This book is unbelievable! It gives you simple rules to follow to become a successful communicator. More importantly, the examples in the book are so amazing that if you read them carefully you will be surprised of how much they can change your life.
I am considered by my colleagues and friends to be a great communicator and a successful person, but I have come to where I am today with painful experiences. I wish I had read this book long time ago so I would have made a lot less mistakes.If you want to become a successful person, you have to read this book without a doubt!(esp. if you are not so gifted with making friends)
That being said, making friends and influencing people take charisma and sincerity. The first one is intrinsic but the second one can be learned. And if you don't have either, this book will not do you any good, because no matter how talented you are in communication, you cannot make friends if you are insincere and non-charismatic.
Rating: 
Summary: Wont Help - Dont Even Waste Time
Review: This book makes no sense in our time. Let me give you an example, he says everytime you are trying to make a choice, pull out a one-dollar bill, look at lincoln and ask yourself "What would lincoln do?" WTF?
I do not recommend this book at all, he goes on talking for hours without giving you the "purpose" of the stories he gives. Sure, I can talk for hours and tell stories that make no sense at all.
Dont Waste your time, you would improve much much much better if you start talking to yourself instead of listening to this guy.
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