Product Description

This is the first and only "bitesized" guide to the works that have captured the imagination of millions and inspired readers everywhere to follow their dreams.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40046 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781857883237
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"A tremendous resource for anyone seeking a ‘bite-sized’ look at the philosophies of many self-help legends, including sacred scriptures." -- STEPHEN R. COVEY, NOTED AUTHOR OF The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

"An exceptional and diverse collection for anyone interested in understanding the possibilities of the self." -- ELLEN LANGER, PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY, AND AUTHOR OF MINDFULNESS

"Soon to become the 51st classic!" -- WARREN BENNIS, BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF BECOMING A LEADER

From the Publisher
Life-transforming insights from timeless sages to contemporary gurus.

Experience, as never-before, the words and ideas of some of our deepest thinkers, spiritual teachers, and poets who represent the true inspiration for our new world:

James Allen • Robert Bly • Boethius • Alain de Botton • Dalai Lama * Ralph Waldo Emerson • Benjamin Franklin • Pierre Teilhard de Chardin * Henry David Thoreau

Explore the wisdom of ancient philosophy and religion:

Marcus Aurelius • The Bhagavad-Gita • The Bible • The teachings of Buddha in The Dhammapada • Lao-Tzu’s The Way of Power.

Learn from contemporary philosophers and inspirational gurus:

Martha Beck • William Bridges • David Burns • Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers • Richard Carlson • Dale Carnegie • Deepak Chopra • Paulo Coehlo * Stephen Covey

• Mihaly Cziksentmihalyi • Wayne Dyer • Clarissa Pinkola Estes * Viktor Frankl • Shakti Gawain • Daniel Goleman • John Gray • Louise Hay * James Hillman • Susan Jeffers • Richard Koch • Ellen Langer • Maxwell Maltz Abraham Maslow • Phil McGraw • Thomas Moore • Joseph Murphy • Norman Vincent Peale • Carol Pearson • M Scott Peck • Ayn Rand • Anthony Robbins * Florence Scovell-Shinn • Martin Seligman • Samuel Smiles • Marianne Williamson

From the Inside Flap
For the first time, fifty of the most important life-changing works in one volume!

Thousands of books have been written offering the ‘secrets’ to personal potential, fulfillment, and happiness: how to walk The Road Less Traveled, Win Friends and Influence People, or Awaken the Giant Within. But which are the all-time classics? Which ones really can change your life?

Tom Butler-Bowdon has cut through the bewildering array of choices to bring you the essential ideas, insights, and techniques from the ‘literature of possibilities’. In works that span the world’s religions, cultures, philosophies, and centuries, he summarizes each work’s key ideas and finally makes clear how these legendary classics can educate, affirm, and motivate anyone searching for the inspiration to make a meaningful life change.

The 50 classics examined here – from the ancient teachings of Buddha and Lao-Tzu and the character-building works of Benjamin Franklin and Samuel Smiles, to contemporary bestsellers such as Emotional Intelligence, Learned Optimism and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – represent the very best of what has become known only since the early 20th century as "self-help".

50 Self-Help Classics is the first and only ‘bite-sized’ introduction to the classic works of life transformation - a unique guide that acknowledges everyone’s yearning for a more meaningful and successful life, yet appreciates that each of us is inspired by different philosophies and ideas.

Customer Reviews

Truly a rare treasure.
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.

A brilliant introduction to the "literature of possibility"
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 convinced that many of those who read this book will be encouraged to read (or re-read) many of the primary sources in their entirety. If Butler-Bowdon's efforts accomplish nothing else, that will indeed be sufficient to earn the praise I think he has earned...and justly deserves.

Lot of information but not much depth
This book contains approximately 50 essays of around 3 doublespaced pages. Each essay tries to explain complex topics such as human motivation, biblical wisdom, and pyshcological complexities of humans. Needless to say, no essay satisfies any single topic due to its extremely shallow coverage. For example, the book tries to explain the wisdom of Buddhism in 3 doublespaced pages. I found them practically useless.

This is an ideal book to buy if you want to SAMPLE all the self help ideas out there before you choose to delve into one.