How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie

With my interest in Psychology, it would be a crime if I did not read the most famous self help book in the business. I have to be honest here ... I picked up this book over a year ago and have only just finished reading it. It is a book that you can dip in and out of but I found that most of the "principles" were common sense. However, it is always nice to have a reminder of the ways in which you can deal with different personalities. 

I guess the main reason that I stopped reading it for a while was because of the other fantastic books I had on my shelf to read which grabbed my attention more than this book. Initially, you are told how to get the most out of the book which is great but they are a little outdated in our modern world and if you follow them it makes the book feel like a chore and, therefore, hard to enjoy. However, this does not mean that the principles are not important or that they cannot be used today. In fact as I was reading them, I could already see times that they could be used and when I had used them previously. 

However, the biggest flaw in the book is that the principles are basic common sense and I felt like I wasn't learning anything new which is what most people look for in a self-help book. It must be taken into consideration the fact that the book was written in 1953 and was probably revolutionary at that time. Nowadays, I believe these are things we have incorporated into our society which renders the book outdated. 

The anecdotes used by Dale Carnegie are an excellent way of captivating the reader and provide examples of the principles in action. The way they are written makes you feel like you were there listening in. Unfortunately, Carnegie uses a lot of references to the American Presidents which can get annoying and makes it feel like he did not have any other examples to hand. 

Overall, the book provides some good principles which you can use in everyday life when mixing with different people. However, it may take some time to get through the book as the principles are common sense and that makes it harder to read continuously. 

What are you thoughts?
Thank you for reading my review.

Next review: "The Suspect - Michael Robotham"