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A review by dayseraph
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
2.0
Look, is this sort of a book for sociopaths? Sure. Does it have a lot of dated references and examples that will make you say, Hmm...? Of course. But is it also mostly good advice on how to interact with people in a friendlier, kinder, and more productive way? Yeah, actually.
I think the version I listened to was the 1981 update (some 25 years after the death of the author) that apparently removed some sections like one full of marital advice and also wedged in some "updated" examples. Without looking into it, I'm going to say removing "Seven Rules for Making Your Home Life Happier" was probably for the best since I can't imagine there was much there that wouldn't make me angry. However, even the small amount of updating meant it was a little jarring to hear a random reference to 1970s Stevie Wonder from a book whose author died in 1955. Most of the examples are more in the era of Teddy Roosevelt.
I can't overly fault a book that encourages being nice to people, considering other people's opinions, and trying to get along better though. It's certainly a problem if you're an adult reading this and it's the first time you've ever thought of behaving like a nice person, but it's not a fatal book flaw to be explicitly reminded to not be a jerk if you don't want people to hate you.
I think the version I listened to was the 1981 update (some 25 years after the death of the author) that apparently removed some sections like one full of marital advice and also wedged in some "updated" examples. Without looking into it, I'm going to say removing "Seven Rules for Making Your Home Life Happier" was probably for the best since I can't imagine there was much there that wouldn't make me angry. However, even the small amount of updating meant it was a little jarring to hear a random reference to 1970s Stevie Wonder from a book whose author died in 1955. Most of the examples are more in the era of Teddy Roosevelt.
I can't overly fault a book that encourages being nice to people, considering other people's opinions, and trying to get along better though. It's certainly a problem if you're an adult reading this and it's the first time you've ever thought of behaving like a nice person, but it's not a fatal book flaw to be explicitly reminded to not be a jerk if you don't want people to hate you.