あらゆる自己啓発本の原点とも言うべき本書は、1937年に初版が発行されると瞬く間にベストセラーとなり、累計で1,500万部を売り上げた。『How to Win Friends and Influence People』は初版の発売当時と同じように今日でも十分通用する内容となっているが、その理由は、著者のデール・カーネギーが決して変わり得ない人間の本質を理解していたからに他ならない。著者の信ずるところによれば、経済的成功の15パーセントは専門的知識から生み出されるが、残りの85パーセントは「考えを表現する能力、リーダーシップをとる能力、そして人々の熱意を引き出す能力」によるものとなる。人と接する際の基本的な原則を基に、自分が重要視され、評価されていると相手に感じさせるようなスキルを教示する。また、操られていると相手に感じさせないようにしながらつき合う基本的な手法にも重点を置いている。カーネギーは、誰かに自分が望むことをさせるには、状況を一度自分以外の視点に立って観察し、「他人の中に強い欲望を喚起させる」ことで可能になると述べる。更に本書を通じて、相手に好かれる方法、自分の考え方に相手を引き込む方法、相手の感情を害することなく、あるいは恨みを買うことなくその人の考え方を変える方法を学ぶことができる。例えば、「他人にその考えが自分のものだと感じさせる」方法、そして「まず自分の失敗について語ってから他人を批判する」方法などである。また、歴史上の人物、産業界のリーダー、そして市井の人々の逸話を交えながら、著者の論点が分かりやすく解説されている。（Joan Price, Amazon.com）
Product Description
Millions of people around the world have - and continue to - improve their lives based on the teachings of Dale Carnegie. In "How to Win Friends and Influence People", Carnegie offers practical advice and techniques, in his exuberant and conversational style, for how to get out of a mental rut and make life more rewarding. His advice has stood the test of time and will teach you how to: make friends quickly and easily; increase your popularity; win people to your way of thinking; enable you to win new clients and customers; become a better speaker and a more entertaining conversationalist; and, arouse enthusiasm among your colleagues. This book will turn around your relationships and improve your dealings with all the people in your life.
Amazon.com Review
This grandfather of all people-skills books was first published in 1937. It was an overnight hit, eventually selling 15 million copies. How to Win Friends and Influence People is just as useful today as it was when it was first published, because Dale Carnegie had an understanding of human nature that will never be outdated. Financial success, Carnegie believed, is due 15 percent to professional knowledge and 85 percent to "the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership, and to arouse enthusiasm among people." He teaches these skills through underlying principles of dealing with people so that they feel important and appreciated. He also emphasizes fundamental techniques for handling people without making them feel manipulated. Carnegie says you can make someone want to do what you want them to by seeing the situation from the other person's point of view and "arousing in the other person an eager want." You learn how to make people like you, win people over to your way of thinking, and change people without causing offense or arousing resentment. For instance, "let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers," and "talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person." Carnegie illustrates his points with anecdotes of historical figures, leaders of the business world, and everyday folks. --Joan Price
