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What are the best psychology/self-help books?
- Thread starter SFG75
- Start date
saliotthomas
New Member
I have one called "keep a clean and shiny bum" printed on toilet paper and it does work very well.
Blindsided
Member
48 laws of power, I read it awhile ago, and it's just now started to be pushed into the general public by rappers like 50 cent and such. It's a pretty good book and it uses lots of historical stories to make it more interesting. You get to see what laws of power famous people used
Not long ago I read some Jung, Singer, Lacan and parts of Freud. Psychology is very interesting, but for me I realized I couldn't "analyze" myself (from psychological aspect anyway). And from what I gathered it's not a good idea to try. What it amounted to was that I was reading books meant for the doc when I felt I was the patient. When a person seeks treatment what they are looking for is an honest outside view. Not the possible dishonest view we have of ourselves. I do think there is plenty to read in self help type books though which can motivate and so on and that is great. But somehow it always seems like common sense....I actually do think there is a way to analyze ourselves, but I couldn't classify it as psychology. "The eye gazing upon itself". But that is a whole other can of worms...
Hugh
Member
Just finished Pushing to Front by Orison Swett Marden. This book was first published in 1894 and that's part of what makes in so unique when compared to the self improvement books of today. For example, in a section on personal hygiene, he reccomends that young men wash their hair with scalp soap three times a week, or if you have dry hair you only need to do it once per week. I put on my knickerbockers and went straight to the drug store in search of scalp soap, but the clerk insisted that he had never heard of it.
The book is mostly geared to young men just entering the work force. The author spends a lot of time telling stories of famous people overcoming difficulties, such as Napoleon marching his army through difficult mountain terrain. He tells them in short bites, one right after the other, and it made for slightly difficult reading.
Most of the self improvement books I've read only take on smoking tangentially, but this book has a full chapter anti-smoking screed. Back then scare tacticts must have been in vogue.
Something that wasn't in vogue back then was political correctness. The version of the book I have has a warning in the front to warn people about potentially offensive ethnic and sexist comments. They are not the least bit offensive though, except of course to the most sensitive of people.
There are three consecutive chapters near the end on books. He emphasizes reading throughout the book, but really hits it hard in these three chapters. He posts a reading list of both fiction and non-fiction books. He even posted the titles of books in the personal library of a Yale president as an example of what an educated and refined man reads. He reccomends avoiding dime store fiction books that contain violence. He blames them for delinquent and criminal behavior much like video games get the blame today.
The book I have is published by Wilder Publications, and judging by the cover, they appear to be a shoestring-budget publisher. The cover looks like it was made with MS Paint with a picture of racehorses quickly photoshopped in. Actually, the photo is of a racetrack with the horses photoshopped onto the track, but the horses were put on the outside of the railing. It takes a few minutes of staring at the picture before you finally realize what's wrong with it.
The book is mostly geared to young men just entering the work force. The author spends a lot of time telling stories of famous people overcoming difficulties, such as Napoleon marching his army through difficult mountain terrain. He tells them in short bites, one right after the other, and it made for slightly difficult reading.
Most of the self improvement books I've read only take on smoking tangentially, but this book has a full chapter anti-smoking screed. Back then scare tacticts must have been in vogue.
Something that wasn't in vogue back then was political correctness. The version of the book I have has a warning in the front to warn people about potentially offensive ethnic and sexist comments. They are not the least bit offensive though, except of course to the most sensitive of people.
There are three consecutive chapters near the end on books. He emphasizes reading throughout the book, but really hits it hard in these three chapters. He posts a reading list of both fiction and non-fiction books. He even posted the titles of books in the personal library of a Yale president as an example of what an educated and refined man reads. He reccomends avoiding dime store fiction books that contain violence. He blames them for delinquent and criminal behavior much like video games get the blame today.
The book I have is published by Wilder Publications, and judging by the cover, they appear to be a shoestring-budget publisher. The cover looks like it was made with MS Paint with a picture of racehorses quickly photoshopped in. Actually, the photo is of a racetrack with the horses photoshopped onto the track, but the horses were put on the outside of the railing. It takes a few minutes of staring at the picture before you finally realize what's wrong with it.
Peder
Well-Known Member
Well, here's a blast from the past!
Glad to see it bumped up again. Looking back to 2005 -- the years do fly! -- I still concur with my own post then, although I see that my writing has improved somewhat. I think.
According to what I see on the shelves now, it looks as if Dale Carnegie has modernized its offerings and I would still recommend their books.
Glad to see it bumped up again. Looking back to 2005 -- the years do fly! -- I still concur with my own post then, although I see that my writing has improved somewhat. I think.
According to what I see on the shelves now, it looks as if Dale Carnegie has modernized its offerings and I would still recommend their books.