How to Win Friends and Influence People
...ing a true leader. Much of his advice is explained in great detail and easy to follow. The good professor also left chapter summaries at the end of each section for easier review. Despite all the great advice, Carnegie warned the reader in the preface: “You will probably find it difficult to apply everything I advocated. For example, when you are displeased, it is much easier to criticize and condemn than it is to try to understand the other person’s viewpoint. It is easier to find fault than find praise.” (Carnegie, xxiii) Written as a self-help book, Carnegie meant for his readers to use his book as a reference guide to be reviewed on a regular basis. By practicing daily on changing bad habits as Carnegie recommended, one could find great rewards in better relationships. This book is actually quite boring. It could have been condensed from twelve chapters instead of thirty-something chapters. The author should have cut out any additional sections greater than three. “A statement should only have a thesis, antithesis, and a synthesis.” (Hegelian Philosophy) Dale Carnegie not only has all three mentioned; he has too much information. Written in a bookish-professor like tone, Carnegie is guilty of addressing the audience in a condescending manner. As an illustration of how people tend to blame others rather than themselves, Mr. Carnegie compares big-time criminals to the general populations of readers: “There you are; human nature in action, wrongdoers, blaming everybody but themselves. We are all like that. So when you and I are tempted to criticize someone tomorrow, lets remember Al Capone, “Two Gun” Crowley, and Albert Fall.” (Carnegie, 8) He assumes the reader has no common sense, no EQ, and no tact. Yet, the professor still attracts the audience with his authoritative background and connections. Though written in outdated language, his stories are mostly witty and illustrate his points well. One would think that Carnegie was once an awful history professor that force-fed his students with useless information. Many of his illustrations are actually straight out of the history book; Carnegie’s favorite example of antiquity would be using past presidents of the United States as a demonstration of a good person versus a bad person. Here is an example of how long winded his presidential exampl...