First, Butler-Bowdon has assembled excerpts and focused on key points from a wide variety of works which include (with authors listed in alphabetical order, as in the book), Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, Robert Bly's Iron John, Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers' The Power of Myth, Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler's The Art of Happiness, Wayne Dyer's Real Magic, Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self-Reliance, Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography, Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, Abraham Maslow's Motivation and Personality, Thomas Moore's Care of the Soul, Joseph Murphy's The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, and Henry David Thoreau's Walden. Obviously, some of this material would also be appropriate for inclusion in 50 Success Classics.

Second, I appreciate the fact that Butler-Bowdon also enables his readers to focus on specific themes of greatest interest to them by suggesting combinations of selections as follows:

The Power of Thought: Change your thoughts, change your life
Following Your Dream: Achievement and goal setting
Secrets of Happiness: Doing what you love, doing what works
The Bigger Picture: Keeping it in perspective
Soul and Mystery: Appreciating your depth
Making a Difference: Transforming yourself, transforming the world

The diversity of Butler-Bowdon's primary sources is indeed impressive even when grouped according to a common theme.

Third and finally, he makes clever use of a number of reader-friendly devices throughout his narrative, such as "In a nutshell," "Final comments," and a brief bio of the author at the conclusion of each selection. I also appreciate the inclusion of brief quotations wherever they are most relevant.

In the Introduction, Butler-Bowdon observes that a self-help book "can be your best friend and champion, expressing a faith in your essential greatness and beauty that is sometimes hard to get from another person. Because of its emphasis on following your star and believing that your thoughts can remake your world, a better name for self-help writing might be the `literature of possibility.' Many people are amazed that the self-help sections in bookstores are so huge. For the rest of us, there is no mystery. Whatever recognizes our right to dream, then shows us how to make the dream a reality, is powerful and valuable."

What he offers is by no means a buffet of motivational "hors d'oeuvres." On the contrary, the content selected is solid and skillfully presented within an appropriate context. I am convinced that many of those who read this book will be encouraged to read (or re-read) many of the primary sources in their entirety. If Butler-Bowdon's efforts accomplish nothing else, that will indeed be sufficient to earn the praise I think he has earned...and justly deserves.

The wealth of ideas is inspiring. It also acts as a perfect guide to further reading . There's background about each of the authors, the main points of their books are summarised and there's also a commentary. It's all written in an authoritative style (I immediately trusted the author) but it's told engagingly (as if it's told to you by a wise-but-trusted friend).

Buying self-help books can be a daunting task in itself. This book has guided me to books that I have loved including:

How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers
Finding Your Own North Star by Martha Beck

(I'm also looking forward to reading Iron John by Robert Bly and Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Emerson!)

It has helped me avoid books that I would not enjoy, but even then I have been entertained and enlightened by Tom Butler-Bowdon description of them. I might not agree with what they have to say, but I find it helpful to know what they have said. I'm thinking particularly of John Gray's Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus here.

Self-help books often get a bad press and it is true that not all of them are helpful. However, I think it's the duty of all individuals to learn as much about themselves and other people as they can. Why neglect all the great ideas just because they are written down?

This book should be given to every adult in the land. You learn about chemistry, physics, maths and geography at school but you are rarely prepared for how to interact with others, how even to live your life. This book is a gift for those looking for direction, reassurance or guidance.