"DO NOT 'TELL' THE WORLD WHAT YOU CAN DO—'SHOW IT'": NAPOLEON HILL'S "MAGNUM OPUS," HIS EIGHT-VOLUME LAW OF SUCCESS IN SIXTEEN LESSONS, 1937, BOLDLY SIGNED BY HIM IN VOLUME ONE, IN ORIGINAL CLOTH

HILL, Napoleon. The Law of Success in Sixteen Lessons. Teaching, for the First Time in the History of the World, the True Philosophy upon which all Personal Success is Built. Meriden, Connecticut: Ralston, 1937. Eight volumes. Octavo, original blindstamped dark brown cloth, custom slipcases. $8500.

1937 edition of Napoleon Hill's eight-volume landmark work—"as relevant as ever" (Forbes)—this copy signed by Napoleon Hill in Vol. I with the inscription in the same green ink, in an unidentified hand, "With the Author's Best Wishes."

To many, the 16 laws in "Napoleon Hill's classic Law of Success… seem as relevant as ever" (Forbes). Hill's "magnum opus" (New York Times) was inspired by his 1908 interview with Andrew Carnegie. It was then that "Carnegie issued a challenge to Hill: Commit the next 20 years, without compensation, to documenting and recording such a philosophy of success, and he would introduce him to the wealthiest and most successful men of the time. Hill jumped at the opportunity. And so, for the next two decades, between numerous business ventures and starting a family, Hill went about fulfilling the pledge. He met with Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Edison, John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, Alexander Graham Bell, King Gillette and other contemporary giants" (Emmett, Rich Man Poor Man). Hill offers inspiring quotes from figures such as Socrates, Shakespeare, Lincoln and Booker T. Washington, urging his readers: "Do Not 'Tell' the World What You Can Do—'Show It.'" Included are sections on "Self-Confidence," "Imagination," and "Initiative and Leadership," along with guides for successful salesmanship and learning from failure. Hill's classic Think and Grow Rich (1937), published the same year as this eight-volume edition, was a "revised and refined version of his research" in this pioneering work (Bill Hartley). "Law of Success in Sixteen Lessons debuted on March 26, 1928" (Emmett, Rich Man Poor Man). As issued without dust jackets. This stated "Third Edition" stands as the second eight-volume edition: preceded by the 1928 edition, the first eight-volume edition, which expanded on a 1925 shorter version of barely 500 pages that appeared both in pamphlet form and in a limited edition of 118 copies.

Text very fresh with tiny early repair to one leaf (I), only lightest rubbing to spine ends. A splendid about-fine copy.