Few books can be universally recognized as the origin of an entire literary genre, but Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People can’t get any closer. Advice books had existed long before Carnegie’s came on the market, but they were primarily directed toward a very specific and targeted audience and contained appropriately specific and targeted advice. Carnegie’s book, by contrast, is fairly broadly directed in comparison. Carnegie’s book could never have even gotten published as early as half a century earlier because its underlying premise is dependent upon a political ideology that had yet to be proven sustainable and viable. Carnegie’s message is distinctly democratic: anybody using these techniques can raise their status as the techniques are not obstructed by the limitations of class or economics.
This aspect of the book is singularly significant for lending Carnegie the status of the Godfather Guru of the Self-Help Genre. As mentioned earlier, advice books had been published for centuries, but what makes How to Win Friends and Influence People stand out has less to do with content and more to do with sales. From a limited first printing of must 15,000 copies word of mouth caused sales to explode. The recurring figure of 15 million copies sold by the early 21st century fails to give a proper indication of just how influential How to Win Friends and Influence People is. A more incisive figure is the book’s standing on Time Magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential Non-Fiction Books since 1923 (the founding date of the magazine). Coming in at number 19, it is noteworthy for one detail in particular: it is the first self-help book on the list, following a selection of biographies, autobiographies, memoirs, one graphic novel, a treatise on economics and muckraking expose of the fast food industry. The book also makes the grade on the magazine’s list of the 25 Most Influential Business Books.
The basic template of the book has since been followed by thousands of writers publishing millions of books. Walk into a large bookstore and the true influence of Carnegie becomes apparent. The Self-Help section rivals any other major literary genre in size and scope. Indeed, one can even find entire stores that sell nothing but books capable of falling within this genre. Taking their cue from Carnegie, this is a genre that reflects a basic understanding of the rules and reflects. Take a moment to browse through this section sometime and count how many titles feature the word “You” how many feature the word “I” and how often those featuring the word “I” also include some version of “You.”
The most fundamental advice to be found in Carnegie’s book is that if you want to influence another person, you make it all about them so that you can reap the benefits. This is a lesson that most has not been lost on all the authors who have followed him up the best-seller list.
