Q #210: Which are the most highly regarded books on the subject of success?

There is someone else far better qualified than I am to respond to that question. Tom Butler-Bowen is the author of five volumes in the 50 Classics series. He selected and then discusses primary sources for five subjects: prosperity, psychology, success, self-help, and spirituality. In each of the five volumes, he provides a brief bio of each author, then examines several key ideas and explains the enduring significance of the given work. Here is a representative selection of authors and works featured in 50 Success Classics:

Horatio Alger, Ragged Dick (1867)
Chin-ning Chu, Thick Face Black Heart (1992)
Russell H. Conwell, Acres of Diamonds (1921)
W. Timothy Gallwey, The Inner Game of Tennis (1974)
Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich (1937)
Nelson Mandela, Long Walk To Freedom (1994)
Orison Swett Marden, Pushing To The Front (1894)
Zig Ziglar, See You At The Top (1975)

Here is an excerpt from Butler-Bowen’s discussion of Horatio Alger:

“The New York City of the mid-19th century was an awful place for many of its inhabitants. Areas such as Five Points (setting for the movie Gangs of New York) were dangerous and filthy, filled with abandoned or neglected children. Many slept outside at night, and most wore assemblages of badly-fitting ‘ragged’ clothes. During the day they hawked matches, sold newspapers, shined shoes or picked pockets in order to eat. The authorities did little to alleviate the situation, and in a celebrated case, a street urchin found naked was represented by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Horatio Alger, the chronicler of this world to a public who may have preferred not to know that it existed, was not himself a New Yorker, having been brought up in middle-class comfort with a private school education followed by Harvard. Though he had had some writing published, Ragged Dick or Street Life in New York With The Boot-Blacks was Horatio Alger’s first bestseller, setting the template for scores of poor-boy-makes-good novels that had a massive influence on young Americans. Groucho Marx and Ernest Hemingway were among those said to have devoured his work.”

To those curious to know which are the most highly regarded books on the subject of success, I highly recommend Butler-Bowen’s own book as a guide to those sources. Here is a link to Butler-Bowdon’s Web site where you can obtain more information about him and his works. You can also sign up for e-mail alerts:

http://www.butler-bowdon.com/

Comments, questions, requests, or suggestions? Please share them. They will be most welcome and I thank you for them. Best regards, Bob