A Good Visual
Writer, a lady from the South, 06/27/2008

The thirteen steps presented by Mr. Hill are to the point and very honest. His book is not some egotistical scam for our money, thank goodness. I should think that any one who is supposedly 'down on his luck' needs to purchase this book and maybe redirect his steps.

Conceive + Believe = Achieve
hawk5391, A reviewer, 04/25/2008

Think and Grow Rich claims to reveal the secret of Andrew Carnegie's success. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't, but the secret appears to be something along the lines of 'have a goal and work really hard to meet it.' Hill stresses the importance of a positive mental attitude, and makes a convincing case that one's subconscious mind is at least partially responsible for one's success and failures in life. At times, the book wanders into some unusual territories (armchair psychology, paranormal phenomena) but it was probably considered 'cutting edge' 70 years ago when it was first published. As for the title, it's probably worth mentioning that the concepts imparted by the book don't necessarily have to do with material wealth but could be applied to just about any endeavor.

Also recommended: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Carnegie, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Covey, The 10 Natural Laws of Time and Life Management by Smith

A reviewer
A reviewer, A reviewer, 11/22/2007

There are some very helpful recommendations in this book such as visualizing and affirming your success. A positive attitude is considered almighty. But written later, two excellent books, Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman explains the advantages and disadvantages of pessimism and optimism and Optimal Thinking: How To Be Your Best Self shows you how to make the most of your thinking, any situation, your life and career. I would read all three books.

Also recommended: Learned Optimism and Optimal Thinking: How To Be Your Best Self

To: Mr. Bunk
A reviewer (concepts_5@hotmail.com), A reviewer, 07/28/2007

Under organized and specialized knowledge this book explains how a person can assess any lacks of knowledge or weaknesses in making their plan. Henry Ford had next to no education yet at the push of a button could summon the right person to supply him with any amount of knowledge he required. The same is true in todays world with the advent of the internet. The first thing you need is a positive attitude which supercedes any negatives. Nothing is perfect and one can find faults with anything if they so choose.

Bunk
A reviewer, A reviewer, 07/19/2007

I was highly disappointed when I read this book. Napoleon Hill is dead on on some very obvious and commonsensical things but way off on tons of others. Yes, autosuggestion & visualizing your outcomes are good exercises but are common sense for most people unless you have super low self-esteem. Nothing new here. Tips on how to write a resume and apply for a job are helpful to the would-be job applicant, but that isn’t why you bought this book. My biggest bone of contention is due to the metaphysical/new-age overtones throughout the book. Napoleon Hill espouses a concept called “infinite intelligence,” but never defines it. It is something more like an omnipresent god-force or life force. This is total hogwash, and won’t solve any MAJOR problems. You don’t hear of scientists tapping into “infinite intelligence” to seek out a cure for cancer. How come I can't tap into this mysterious force, to say, tell me the winning lotto numbers or pick winning stocks? Maybe because it is total nonsense. Hill also commits the sunk cost fallacy in the story he tells where somebody stopped digging just three feet short from striking gold. While I see his point that many times just a little more effort will result in a sizeable payoff, sometimes one must know when to stop a futile endeavor. Hill advocates being persistent, but says nothing about how to identify situations when it should be stopped and a new goal should be sought. Hill is a strong advocate of positive thinking. Who isn’t? Did I have to read this book to find out that it is better to think positively than negatively? No way. While positive thinking is good for many things, it cannot cure Parkinson's Disease or Alzheimer’s. Napoleon Hill says you can be anything you want to be. Total bunk. If this is true, why didn't he become the next Carnigee or Rockefeller? Does this statement not apply to him, and if it doesn't apply to him, why should it apply to others? Hill also commits the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy, which is “Someone did x to become successful, therefore x caused their success.” You can't use an example of one person who achieved sucess against tremendous odds and say that therefore anyone can surmount these odds. We hear of the few who are successful against the odds but not of the many who fail. That is how the real world works. Not everyone can be a Bill Gates or a Micheal Jordan. Hill mentions nothing about realistically assessing your skillsets against your goals. He just says go for it. That is stupid. Better advice is to try lowering your standards a bit and you will find you can achieve your goals much easier. Maybe you can’t build a huge software corporation but you can have a thriving small consulting firm. I don't care how positive you are, there's some things you can't do because of lack of competency. That’s the sober truth, and it won't sell books.