"How to Win Friends and Influence People" is one of the first self-help books ever published. Written by Dale Carnegie and first appearing in 1937, it has sold 15 million copies worldwide. It is probably the most famous of all Carnegie's numerous self-help books. One of the core ideas in all of Dale Carnegie's output is that it is possible to change other people's behaviour by changing one's reaction to them.

About Author Dale Carnegie

Dale Carnegie was born in 1888 and became the first acknowledged author and speaker on self-improvement. He was born and raised in poverty and remained poor while he unsuccessfully tried to become an actor in New York. He tried his luck at teaching public speaking and found that giving his own advice to students worked better than the advice he was expected to give. On one of his programmes, Leon Shimkin of the publishers Simon and Shuster toppled over and asked Carnegie if he could use a stenographer to take notes for him. The result was the publication of "How to Win Friends and Influence People".

Content of "How to Win Friends and Influence People"

The updated version of "How to Win Friends and Influence People" has the following 4 parts:

Part 1: Fundamental Techniques in Handling People

a. If you want to gather honey, don't kick over the beehive
b. The big secret of dealing with people
c. He who can do this has the whole world with him; he who cannot, walks a lonely way

Part 2: Six Ways to Make People Like You

a. Do this and you'll be welcome anywhere
b. A simple way to make a good impression
c. If you don't do this, you are headed for trouble
d. An easy way to become a good conversationalist
e. How to interest people
f. How to make people like you instantly

Part 3: Twelve Ways to Win People to Your Way of Thinking

a. You can't win an argument
b. A sure way of making enemies - and how to avoid it
c. If you're wrong, admit it
d. The High road to a man's reason
e. The secret of Socrates
f. The safety valve in handling complaints
g. How to get co-operation
h. A formula that will work wonders for you
i. What everybody wants
j. An appeal that everybody likes
k. Tha movies do it. Radio does it. Why don't you do it?
l. When nothing else works, try this.

Part 4: Nine Ways to Change People Without Giving Offence or Arousing Resentment

a. If you must find fault, this is the way to begin
b. How to criticize and not be hated for it
c. Talk about your own mistakes first
d. No one likes to take orders
e. Let the other man save his face
f. How to spur men on to success
g. Give the dog a good name
h. Make the fault seem easy to correct
i. Making people glad to do what you want

How to Get the Most out of this Book

"How to Win Friends and Influence People" is a practical book that will repay study and application of the many principles, tips, and techniques in it. As Dale Carnegie says in his introduction, the only thing you need to succeed is "a deep driving desire to learn and a vigorous determination to increase your ability to deal with people".