Who Wrote How to Win Friends and Influence People, When, and How Long Is It?
Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) wrote How to Win Friends and Influence People, and Simon & Schuster published it in 1936. The common modern hardcover runs 291 numbered pages, plus front matter, and has a Lexile measure of 1020L.
It has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Author | Dale Carnegie |
| First published | 1936, Simon & Schuster |
| Length (common edition) | About 291 pages plus front matter |
| Reading level | Lexile 1020L |
| Revised editions | 1981; a Digital Age edition (2011); a revised edition (2022) |
Who was Dale Carnegie?
Carnegie was born in Missouri and became a teacher of public speaking and human relations for adults. His courses were the basis of the book.
↑ Back to the topHow was the book written?
In 1934 Leon Shimkin of Simon & Schuster attended one of Carnegie's 14-week courses and persuaded him to let a stenographer record the sessions so the material could be turned into a book. The first printing was small, about 5,000 copies, but it sold so well that the book went through many printings in its first year. Britannica reports 70,000 copies sold within three weeks of the November 1936 release and one million by 1939.
↑ Back to the topHow many pages is it?
Page counts vary by edition. A widely held 2009 Simon & Schuster hardcover lists 291 pages plus front matter, while the 1981 revised edition appears in library records at about 260 to 299 pages depending on the printing. Library records give the book a Lexile measure of 1020L, which is typical of adult nonfiction.
↑ Back to the topWhich edition should I read?
The 1981 revision, prepared with Carnegie's widow Dorothy, updated the language and anecdotes and reduced the book from six sections to four, dropping the sections on business letters and on marriage. It is the version most readers meet today.
A newer edition published in 2022 was supervised by Carnegie's daughter and advertises material restored from the original 1936 text. Readers who want the original structure can look for a 1936 text edition. For most readers, any current print edition covers the core ideas.
↑ Back to the topHow influential is it?
Britannica calls it one of the top-selling business books of all time, and it remains in print ninety years after publication, selling more than 250,000 copies a year according to Wikipedia.
↑ Back to the topMore about How to Win Friends and Influence People
Page counts and chapter contents differ between the 1936 original, the 1981 revision and later editions.