50 Self-Help Classics: 50 Inspirational Books to Transform Your Life from Timeless Sages to Contemporary Gurus

If you've read self-help books, and seen the true benefits that this style of literature can offer, you know that of the hundreds of pages you read in a typical book, the real value can be boiled down to a few pages on the greatest lesson offered. This book does just that over and over. It hits you with the key ideas, backs it up, and cross-references it to other books that make a similar point in different ways. Incredibly valuable if you're interested in making sense of and categorizing the vast improvements to self, that self-help points you in the direction of.

In both this volume and in 50 Success Classics, Butler-Bowdon has selected and then provided a rigorous examination of carefully selected works which have had, for decades, a profound impact on those who read them and then applied the principles which their respective authors affirm. In this instance, inspiration and guidance to transform one's life. There are several reasons why I hold this volume in such high regard. Here are three. First, Butler-Bowdon has assembled excerpts and focused on key points from a wide variety of works which include (with authors listed in alphabetical order, as in the book), Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, Robert Bly's Iron John, Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers' The Power of Myth, Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler's The Art of Happiness, Wayne Dyer's Real Magic, Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self-Reliance, Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography, Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, Abraham Maslow's Motivation and Personality, Thomas Moore's Care of the Soul, Joseph Murphy's The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, and Henry David Thoreau's Walden. Obviously, some of this material would also be appropriate for inclusion in 50 Success Classics. Second, I appreciate the fact that Butler-Bowdon also enables his readers to focus on specific themes of greatest interest to them by suggesting combinations of selections as follows: The Power of Thought: Change your thoughts, change your life Following Your Dream: Achievement and goal setting Secrets of Happiness: Doing what you love, doing what works The Bigger Picture: Keeping it in perspective Soul and Mystery: Appreciating your depth Making a Difference: Transforming yourself, transforming the world The diversity of Butler-Bowdon's primary sources is indeed impressive even when grouped according to a common theme. Third and finally, he makes clever use of a number of reader-friendly devices throughout his narrative, such as "In a nutshell," "Final comments," and a brief bio of the author at the conclusion of each selection. I also appreciate the inclusion of brief quotations wherever they are most relevant. In the Introduction, Butler-Bowdon observes that a self-help book "can be your best friend and champion, expressing a faith in your essential greatness and beauty that is sometimes hard to get from another person. Because of its emphasis on following your star and believing that your thoughts can remake your world, a better name for self-help writing might be the `literature of possibility.' Many people are amazed that the self-help sections in bookstores are so huge. For the rest of us, there is no mystery. Whatever recognizes our right to dream, then shows us how to make the dream a reality, is powerful and valuable." What he offers is by no means a buffet of motivational "hors d'oeuvres." On the contrary, the content selected is solid and skillfully presented within an appropriate context. I am convi

This is the only book I've ever read that made me jealous. I'm the author of the book Self-Help Stuff That Works, published in 1999, and I've never come across its equal (at least in my own biased opinion) until now. Many times while reading this book I felt jealous. Tom Butler-Bowdon has done things I wish I had done. And he writes with a powerful clarity I admire. Sometimes an author can say what another author has said, but say it clearer and better than the original author. Tom has done that in these pages. He often gets across the message of the original book with far more clarity and punch than the original ever had. Each classic has its own chapter and each chapter is wonderfully short. There is never a dull moment. The book has a lot of nice features too: pithy quotes from the original book, a summary of the main point of each classic, and recommended books in a similar vein. At the end of each chapter is a short biography of the author. While reading this book I could feel that the author was really making sure I got my money's worth (and he succeeded). I have already read most of the fifty books, and it was wonderful to have the meat of those books extracted and laid bare. With Tom's book in my possession, I can now review one of these classics quickly and easily. Repetition is vital to learning, and yet I often don't re-read books because it is so time-consuming, even though I know I could be helped by a review of the material. Now I can review them without investing a lot of time. Tom clearly didn't choose these fifty books based on popularity. This is an excellent selection. The fifty classics are well-chosen and represent a balanced coverage of the field. Tom includes many of my favorite books of all time: Flow, Feeling Good, How to Win Friends, The Art of Happiness, Self-Reliance, Learned Optimism, Man's Search For Meaning, and on and on. This book also introduced me to some material I would never have picked up off the shelf, but I'm glad I have been introduced to it. I loved the chapter on Beothius. You could think of this book as Cliffs Notes for self-help books. Reading it would be a great way to shop for just the right book to read next. It was great to find the Bhagavad Gita in this context (that is, as a self-help book, which is truly one of the things it is). Reading Tom's explanation of the overall thrust of the Bhagavad Gita helped me understand it better than I ever have. The author does not talk down to the reader, doesn't write at a fourth grade level, and yet this is clear and easy reading. And even so, the writing is penetrating, insightful, and intelligent. If you want to learn how to change your thoughts, how to find your best direction in life and accomplish it, how to become happier, how to change your perspective, if you want to explore yourself and make a difference in the world, you'll find more than enough juicy nuggets here to satisfy.

"What a great book! Taking 50 self help classics and puting the core message of each author of some 250-400 page books into 3-5 pages is no easy feat. But Tom has done exactly that.What makes this book so remarkable is the author's style of elequent writing. He takes the core message of each author and presents it to you in a clear, consise and extremly focused manner.I am always searching for "good stuff" on self improvement. Tom has done a great service and a teriffic job of sifting through hundreds of books on personal development to share only a select few that have become true classics.As a published author of a book on self motivation, this book is: Motivating!"Zev Saftlas, Author of Motivation That Works: How to Get Motivated and Stay Motivated & Founder of www.CoachingWithResults.com

This is a fantastic compendium of ideas, elegantly presented and superbly described and selected by the author. If you want to get the best insights into how to change your life, it is all here. Butler-Bowdon will whet your appetite and I confidently predict that you will buy one of the books he summarises, and then another, and then another ... because his judgment is so good.One of the great things is that you can browse in this book for five minutes, and are bound to come up with an idea you can use right away to improve your personal life. Do it, and then dip back into the book later.A book to keep with you, especially for those times when life really is difficult. But inspiring too at any time.It has really helped me, and can help you too. Go read!