Customer Reviews

Think and Grow Rich

5 star:		(98)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

If you asked me to recommend to you the single best book I have ever read, my answer would be a very definite "Think and Grow Rich".

First published in 1937, this is the end product of two decades of research conducted by Napoleon Hill. His research started when Andrew Carnegie (the steel tycoon who was then the richest man on earth) gave him the assignment of organizing a Philosophy of Personal Achievement. Hill, who was a poor journalist, armed with just an introductory letter from Carnegie, set out to interview over five hundred successful people including Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, John D. Rockefeller, George Eastman, William Wrigley Jr. and Charles M. Schwab. Hill then revealed the priceless wisdom of his research in the form of the thirteen steps to success (in Think and Grow Rich) and the seventeen principles of success (in courses and lectures he conducted).

The concepts taught by Napoleon Hill transformed my life. Some of these include developing a definite purpose, building a Positive Mental Attitude (PMA), channeling the power of the sub-conscious mind and dealing with adversity. Everything he wrote about or talked about is thought provoking. He was wise, humble and funny. His philosophy is universal; he did not mix it with religion. The riches he referred to were more than money, for the Philosophy of Personal Achievement can be applied to anything in life.

Hill was well ahead of his time. This book has a chapter dedicated to some of today's most important issues - Specialized Knowledge, Decision Making, Imagination and Organized Planning (in which he deals with Leadership). He also has principles for Teamwork, Creative Vision, Health, etc.

This is a classic, and hence the examples are old (not to be confused with outdated). But they are as relevant today as they were in the early twentieth century. Here is an example from T&GR in the chapter on Desire:

On the morning after the Great Fire of Chicago (1871), a group of merchants on Chicago's State Street went into a conference to decide whether to rebuild their stores or leave Chicago. All but one decided to leave. The merchant who decided to stay pointed a finger to the remains of his store and said "Gentlemen, on that very spot I will build the world's greatest store, no matter how many times it may burn down." His name was Marshall Field and his store still exists, and in Hill's words is "a towering monument to that state of mind known as a burning desire." I lived in Chicago from 2002 through 2004 and worked three blocks away from this impressive store on State Street. Sometimes I would visit it or stand outside it to derive inspiration and be reminded of the power of desire. It is amazing that Hill describes "burning desire" with a story based on the Chicago Fire.

There are thousands of self-help books out in the market and hundreds of self proclaimed "gurus" who have made a living by copying the wisdom in Hill's books. As I went through some of those books I realized that there was not much in them that Hill had not already written about. I recommend quality over quantity. Instead of reading through many books, I recommend that you study the following works of Hill and internalize his wisdom:

1. The Think and Grow Rich Action Pack (1937) - I recommend the Action Pack edition,

2. Napoleon Hill's Keys to Success: The 17 Principles of Personal Achievement - this is an excellent guide to his principles,

3. Your Right To Be Rich [Unabridged] - this consists of 12 hours of live lectures covering the 17 principles, that Hill conducted in Chicago in 1954.

By internalizing, I mean studying in depth - analyzing the ideas, making notes and summaries. I own more CDs by Hill, but I believe that these 3 items make the perfect study plan on the Philosophy of Personal Achievement.

I am greatly indebted to Napoleon Hill. The purpose of my writing this is to spread awareness of his work so that more people can benefit from it. This, I believe is the best way in which Hill would have liked to have been repaid.

This review was written for the original version, which is the core of this version. This revised edition has more recent examples.

Arthur took a classic and added his own garbage to it. I started reading it (and getting alot out of it) when I came across some material that just didn't have the ring of truth in it. I looked in an older copy of Think and Grow Rich and discovered that the parts that I didn't agree with (from a moral and business standpoint) were the lines that Arthur Pell added. The up-to-date examples were ok, it was the changes to the original core values that I just couldn't tolerate. Get the original or another version that has high reviews. I give this version 5 stars for the Napoleon Hill part, -3 stars for Dr. Arthur's input, for a total of 2 stars. DON'T BUY THIS VERSION OF A TRUE CLASSIC!

This is a classic (pun intended) example of what's happening with books that many of us read in the `60's and `70's. The books were written in the `20's, `30's, and even earlier. The Secret, which was no secret, was based on these authors' books. I ordered two of Dr. Joseph Murphy's books to replace ones I had given away only to find out they had been "revised." I was so disgusted I gave them away. Genevieve Behrend's books have been taken over by Joe Vitale. His name even appears first on the covers. The description for one of them starts out with, "Fiery Texas author breathes life into dead woman." If you really want to know what Napoleon Hill had to say, get the original version. The book stands on its own merit without any "help" from people who have no new ideas of their own and are just seeking to make money from someone else's work.

After reading the reviews (both postitive and negative), I bought a copy with an open mind, and can now report that this is a faithful, corrected edition of THINK & GROW RICH -- easier to read (better type size) and with nicer paper than some of the other editions. The small amount of added material the other reviewers are writing about by Arthur Pell is minimal, and set off by itself -- so it's not intrusive and if it doesn't enrich your reading, you can skip right over it. On the other hand, from my perspective, it is nice to have a few examples of TGR in action from the 20th century. But again, that added material is extremely short and set off by itself, and either way, this new edition is really terrific. A welcome edition.

THINK & GROW RICH is a true classic for a very good reason -- it has sound advice that works. This new edition is retypeset (at last!) with larger type that is easier to read. I own most of the editions of TGR on the market, and this one is by far my favorite. The small nuggets of additional material by Dr. Arthur Pell (an expert on Dale Carnegie) are helpful -- and they are also set off at the end of each chapter so readers can decide for themselves if they want to read the updated material. Personally, I found it useful and insightful. I cannot recommend this book highly enough, and especially this edition. Read it, use it, and prosper!

For the most part, I enjoyed reading this new version of Think and Grow Rich. But it was a little disconcerting to be reading along here and there in a book written during the Great Depression and suddenly come across material about people like Bill Gates, Stephen Speilberg, Ray Kroc, Arnold Schartzenegger, Andy Grove, etc., etc. The information is nice, but I would just as soon have seen Dr. Pell write a separate, new book containing all this other information. It tends to get in the way of what Hill is saying. I have three or four other copies of Think and I compared them with this one. I notice that Pell has cut out a good bit of material from the original and that some material has beeen shifted around. It did not bother me especially, but I am not sure it was a good idea. If you collect Hill books like I do, you'll probably want to get this one, but there are better ones out there. Also, this must be a British book because a lot of the word spellings are not in American English.

I bought this book with high, but nervous expectations. I was looking forward to seeing how this book had been "revised and updated" for the 21st century. What I found was a terrible hatchet and cut-and-paste job on Napoleon Hill's classic book. The editor, Arthur Pell, completely destroys the rhythm and flow of Dr. Hill's ideas by inserting contemporary examples at the end of Hill's chapters. It's a travesty. We don't need a "21st century version" of "Think and Grow Rich." The one that has worked so well all these many years is still the best. If someone wants to publish a 21st century book, they should simply write an entirely new one. Even minor revisions of a classic like "Think and Grow Rich," to eliminate outdated language or correct errors, should be undertaken with the utmost care and respect for the original. When the project is over, it should still be Napoleon Hill's book.

Length:: 1:56 Mins

This has been an enormous help in setting and reaching goals. My goals are related to money, but I think his system would help with reaching any type of goal. *note that I read an older edition*

This book was great to begin with! But now, with its updated examples and millionaires, fans will love this classic all over again. This is also a great book for new-comers! I have been wanting to read the original for years, but didn't want to have to put up with stories of millionaires of the 1920's. This new updated revised edition uses examples and stories from millionaires of today. you gotta read this!

I just wanted to warn you that after buying this particular copy published by Tarcher I found it to be very cheaply made and very hard to read because it has tiny print. I have since purchased a different copy by BN Publishing which is great.