50 Self-Help Classics: 50 Inspirational Books to Transform Your Life

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.
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.