“THE ONLY WAY ON EARTH TO INFLUENCE THE OTHER FELLOW IS TO TALK ABOUT WHAT HE WANTS AND SHOW HIM HOW TO GET IT”: HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE, SIGNED BY DALE CARNEGIE

CARNEGIE, Dale. How to Win Friends and Influence People. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1937. Octavo, original red cloth, original dust jacket.

Early printing of this wildly influential self-help book, signed by Carnegie in green ink, in scarce original dust jacket.

Carnegie, a humble salesman from Missouri, began offering public speaking courses in 1912; while successful as a teacher, he did not begin to focus on writing and self-help until 1926. “In 1936 Carnegie hit the jackpot with his book How to Win Friends and Influence People. It was an immediate bestseller, and brought a great demand for lectures, periodical articles, and even a syndicated newspaper column. In a short period this book of ‘common-sense advice’ was translated into 30 languages, and by 1986 it had sold more than 15 million copies. It was even adopted by the Army Air Corps Forces Officer’s Candidate School in Miami, Florida. The book’s theme is quite simple: smile, support the ethic of cooperation, see others’ points of view, avoid criticism, and emphasize the golden rule. The emphasis was on positive thinking, and the book was a lineal descendant of 19th-century success books like the Horatio Alger series. The structure of the book was also simple, using biographical sketches of great figures from history. Carnegie sold enthusiasm, and his exuberant style offered inspirational stories as a secret formula for success” (ANB). “How to Win Friends and Influence People would go through dozens of reprintings in subsequent years, ultimately selling more than 30 million copies worldwide over the next few decades. It became one of the best selling nonfiction books in American history—it sells in the six figures yearly even now—with some ranking it behind the Bible and Dr. Benjamin Spock’s Practical Guide to Baby and Child Care” (Watts, Self-Help Messiah, 3). First published in 1936. This copy is 26th printing, appearing in the year after the first printing; identified by publisher as “This is copy No. 614797 of the most popular work of non-fiction of our time” at top of dust jacket front panel. Owner signature, annotation, book number labels.

Interior fine; mild rubbing to extremities of original cloth. Mild wear and chipping to extremities of scarce, unrestored dust jacket, with a one-inch open tear to bottom front panel and a half-inch abrasion to top of front panel, affecting the word “non-fiction” but not affecting the copy number. An extremely good copy, most rare both in original dust jacket and signed by Carnegie.