Southwest Licking School District Literature Selection Review
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Southwest Licking School District
Literature Selection Review
Teacher: Lindy Whitson
School: Watkins Memorial High School
Book Title: How to Make Friends and Influence People
Genre: Non-Fiction
Author: Dale Carnegie
Pages: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
Copyright: 1937
In a brief rationale, please provide the following information relative to the book
you would like added to the school’s book collection for classroom use. You may
attach additional pages as needed.
Book Summary and summary citation: (suggested resources include book flap
summaries, review summaries from publisher, book vendors, etc.)
This grandfather of all people-skills books was first published in 1937. It was an
overnight hit, eventually selling 15 million copies. How to Win Friends and Influence
People is just as useful today as it was when it was first published, because Dale
Carnegie had an understanding of human nature that will never be outdated.
Financial success, Carnegie believed, is due 15 percent to professional knowledge
and 85 percent to "the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership, and to arouse
enthusiasm among people." He teaches these skills through underlying principles of
dealing with people so that they feel important and appreciated. He also emphasizes
fundamental techniques for handling people without making them feel manipulated.
Carnegie says you can make someone want to do what you want them to by seeing
the situation from the other person's point of view and "arousing in the other person
an eager want." You learn how to make people like you, win people over to your way
of thinking, and change people without causing offense or arousing resentment. For
instance, "let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers," and "talk about your
own mistakes before criticizing the other person." Carnegie illustrates his points with
anecdotes of historical figures, leaders of the business world, and everyday folks. --
Joan PriceProvide an instructional rationale for the use of this title, including specific reference to the curriculum map(s): (Curriculum maps may be referenced by grade/course and indicator number or curriculum maps with indicators highlighted may be attached to this form) This novel will highlight many of the social skills Everyday English (Junior and Senior course) discusses and attempts to apply in real life scenarios. This novel offers realistic advice, tools and applications that students can apply to their peers, teachers and their parents. In addition to this, the novel discusses the advantages to using these skills and how it can help them be successful. This novel will be utilized and applied throughout our semester course and used in conjunction with material from the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. Include two professional reviews of this title: (a suggested list of resources for identifying professional reviews is shown below. Reviews may be “cut and pasted” (with citation) into the form or printed reviews may be attached to the form) Review #1 Library Journal Originally published in 1936, this is the archetype of the practical human relations handbook. Carnegie (How To Stop Worrying and Start Living, Audio Reviews, LJ 2/15/99) opens with fundamental techniques for dealing with people, such as refraining from criticism and expressing sincere appreciation. Making people like you by smiling, remembering names, and being a good listener are encouraged. Final sections describe approaches for persuading people to your way of thinking and how to change people without causing offense or resentment. These positive principles are stated succinctly and illustrated with pertinent, if occasionally outmoded, anecdotes. While critics have charged that Carnegie emphasized good manners and friendliness over proficiency, the author clearly states that his target audience is competent individuals who are less than successful because they lack people skills, a group that would be well served by his sensible guidance. Andrew MacMillan's confident, friendly narration is a worthy counterpart for Carnegie's advice, making this an appropriate selection for libraries that don't own the 1989 unabridged recording that includes the printed volume (LJ 4/1/89).--Linda Bredengerd, Hanley Lib., Univ. of Pittsburgh, Bradford, PA Bredengerd, Linda. "BARNES & NOBLE | How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie | NOOK Book (eBook), Paperback, Hardcover, Audiobook." Sitemap | Sitemap Home | Barnes & Noble. Web. 14 July 2011. .
Review #2 How to Win Friends and Influence People Thursday, 15th February 2007 (by J.D. Roth) There’s a famous story of a young woman who dined with William Gladstone one evening, and with Benjamin Disraeli the next. (Gladstone and Disraeli were prominent British statesmen of the nineteenth century. They were bitter rivals.) Asked her impression of these two powerful men, the young woman replied, “When I left the dining room after sitting next to Mr. Gladstone, I thought he was the cleverest man in England. But after sitting next to Mr. Disraeli, I thought I was the cleverest woman in England.” This anecdote illustrates the message at the heart of Dale Carnegie’s classic How to Win Friends and Influence People. To win others to your way of thinking, put yourself in their shoes. See life from their perspective. This is easier said than done. We are each wrapped up in our own lives. We have our own goals and our own worries. It’s difficult to surrender ego for the sake of another person. Yet that’s the key to dealing with people: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The Golden Rule, says Carnegie, is prevalent in nearly every culture, and is the basis for dealing with others. How to Win Friends covers four broad topics: • Fundamental techniques in handling people • How to make people like you • How to win people to your way of thinking • How to change people without giving offense or arousing resentment Each of the book’s chapters has a title that sounds like a link-baiting weblog entry. Each chapter offers a catchy maxim. This makes the entire text easy to boil down to outline form, which I’ve done below. (Doing this tosses aside the essential flavor of the book, though. I encourage you to read it.) Fundamental Techniques in Handling People This introductory section gives a broad overview of Carnegie’s topic, and establishes the three core tenets of his philosophy.
1. If you want to gather honey, don’t kick over the beehive. Don’t criticize,
condemn, or complain.
2. The big secret of dealing with people: Give people a feeling of importance — be
hearty in your approbation and lavish with your praise.
3. He who can do this has the whole world with him; he who cannot walks a lonely
way: First arouse in the other person an eager want.
Six Ways to Make People Like You
In this section, Carnegie covers the basic skills for getting along well with others. These
techniques are useful under any circumstance.
1. Do this and you’ll be welcome anywhere: Become genuinely interested in other
people.
2. A simple way to make a good first impression: Smile.
3. If you don’t do this, you are headed for trouble: Remember that a man’s name is
to him the sweetest and most important sound in any language. [Note:
Unfortunately, some people read this and go overboard. It's tedious to deal with a
salesperson who insists on repeating your name over and over.]
4. An easy way to become a good conversationalist: Be a good listener. Encourage
others to talk about themselves.
5. How to interest people: Talk in terms of the other man’s interests.
6. How to make people like you instantly: Make the other person feel important —
and do it sincerely.
Twelve Ways to Win People to Your Way of Thinking
What’s the best way to settle a disagreement in your favor? My mantra is: If you want to
defeat your enemy, sing his song. Carnegie’s approach is similar:
1. You can’t win an argument: The only way to get the best of an argument is to
avoid it.
2. A sure way of making enemies — and how to avoid it: Show respect for the other
man’s opinions. Never tell a man he is wrong.
3. If you’re wrong, admit it: If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
4. The high road to a man’s reason: Begin in a friendly way.
5. The secret of Socrates: Get the other person saying “yes, yes” immediately.
6. The safety valve in handling complaints: Let the other man do a great deal of the
talking.
7. How to get co-operation: Let the other fellow feel the idea is his.
8. A formula that will work wonders for you: Try honestly to see things from the
other person’s point of view.
9. What everybody wants: Be sympathetic with the other person’s ideas and desires.
10. An appeal that everybody likes: Appeal to the nobler motives.
11. The movies do it. Radio does it. Why don’t you do it? Dramatize your ideas.
12. When nothing else works, try this: Throw down a challenge.Nine Ways to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment
The book’s final section suggests techniques for changing other people.
1. If you must find fault, this is the way to begin: Begin with praise and honest
appreciation.
2. How to criticize — and not be hated for it: Call attention to people’s mistakes
indirectly.
3. Talk about your own mistakes first: Talk about your own mistakes before
criticizing the other person.
4. No one likes to take orders: Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
5. Let the other man save his face.
6. How to spur men to success: Praise the slightest improvement and praise every
improvement.
7. Give the dog a good name: Give a man a fine reputation to live up to.
8. Make the fault seem easy to correct: Use encouragement. Make the thing you
want the other person to do seem easy.
9. Making people glad to do what you want: Make the other person happy about
doing the thing you suggest.
Early editions of the book include an additional section describing “Seven rules for
making your home life happier”. I suspect this content was removed for fear of stirring up
a hornet’s nest. It does little more than rehash the previous sections, anyhow.
Each time I read the How to Win Friends, I get the impression that Carnegie ran out of
steam toward the end. The first half is packed with letters and stories that elaborate his
points. Later chapters are brief. Some are only a page long. This puzzles me, and
weakens the book somewhat, but not enough to ruin it.
I enjoy How to Win Friends and Influence People. I read it at
least once a year. It’s an easy book to mock — its earnest tips can
seem idealistic and childish to the cynical — but its advice is
straightforward and practical. Best of all, this book is readable.
Carnegie has an easy, personable style, and he fills each
chapter with engaging anecdotes from students and readers who
have put his precepts to action. (Later editions are charming
because they intermix the best stories from the original 1936
edition with anecdotes from the 70s and 80s — it’s fun to read a
story about a computer programmer followed by a story of a man
who’s trying to sell “motor cars”.)
This book is easily misinterpreted. I’ve heard it condemned for
encouraging people to be obsequious flatterers. Yet Carnegie loathes insincerity. He
doesn’t want his readers to turn into toadies; he wants his readers to genuinely learn to
think in terms of other people’s interests. His goal is a “win-win” situation.How to Win Friends, first published in 1936, is just as relevant in 2007 as it was seventy years ago. Because it was one of the most popular books of the twentieth century, copies are easy to find cheap at book stores, thrift shops, and garage sales. From the Wikipedia: “Dale Carnegie (November 24, 1888 – November 1, 1955) was an American writer and the developer of famous courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking and interpersonal skills. Born in poverty on a farm in Missouri, he was the author of How to Win Friends and Influence People, first published in 1936, a massive bestseller that remains popular today. He also wrote a biography of Abraham Lincoln, titled Lincoln the Unknown, as well as several other books.” Roth, J.D. "How to Win Friends and Influence People." Get Rich Slowly - Personal Finance That Makes Cents. 15 Feb. 2007. Web. 14 July 2011. . What alternate text(s) could also fulfill the instructional requirements? Title: 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens Author: Sean Covey Title: Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff for Teens Author: Richard Carlson Document any potentially controversial content: None Keeping in mind the age, academic level, and maturity of the intended reader, what is the suggested classroom use: (check all that apply) GRADE LEVEL(S): 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 INTEREST LEVEL(S): 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Reading level of this title (if applicable): 8th grade Date Submitted to Website: 7/14/2011 Suggested Professional Literary Review Sources:
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