Self-Help Messiah: Dale Carnegie and Success in Modern America

Summary

An illuminatingbiography of the man who taught Americans “how to win friends and influencepeople”

Before Stephen Covey, Oprah Winfrey, and Malcolm Gladwellthere was Dale Carnegie. His book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, became a bestseller worldwide, and Lifemagazine named him one of the “most important Americans of the twentiethcentury.” This is the first full-scale biography of this influential figure.

Dale Carnegie was born in rural Missouri—his father a poorfarmer, his mother a successful preacher. To make ends meet he tried his handat various sales jobs, and his failure to convince his customers to buy what hehad to offer eventually became the fuel behind his future glory. Carnegiequickly figured out that something was amiss in American education and in theways businesspeople related to each other. What he discovered was as simple asit was profound: understanding people’s needs and desires is paramount in anysuccessful enterprise. Carnegie conceived his book to help people learn torelate to one another and enrich their lives through effective communication.His success was extraordinary, as 1920s America craved a little psychologicalinsight that was easy to apply to everyday affairs.

Self-Help Messiah tells the story of Carnegie’s personal journey andhow it gave rise to the movement of self-help and personal reinvention.