germanflores’s posterous

How to Win Friends and Influence People is a self-help book written by Dale Carnegie first published in 1936 and republished in 1981. I will be reviewing the 1981 edition which is very, very, dated but contains core principals not so much about influence but I would say on how to be a good person. Since I'm not much of a paper book reader this review is for the audio book version.

The book in it's major sections covers how to handle people, things you can do to make people like you, techniques to influence others, and leadership. At first I disliked the dated anecdotes used to drive the main points but after a while they're more of a novelty due to their historical reference than an annoyance. The book structure is: anecdote followed by principle. This format is effective in helping remember the content.

Self-help books proliferate bookstore shelf's and their shier volume can be intimidating and insulting (I'm looking at you Dummy Books). I love self-help books that provide understanding on why people act the way they do. Many of the principles described in How to Win Friends and Influence People are common sense and aren't ground breaking but ground-breaking research is not usually what is lacking when trying to influence people, the problem or deficiency is applying the techniques properly to get the results you desire.

This self-help book contains very good principles about influencing people but as you know all can read but few can apply what they learn hence not everybody can influence. The read will be easy, applying the principles (executing) will the challenge.

Resources:
How to Win Friends and Influence People Principle
Dale Carnegie