Self-Help Books

The Denial of Death was written by the American cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker and published in 1973. The work explores the fear of death and the ways in which rituals and beliefs have helped humans to cope with it throughout history. It was inspired by the fact that Becker had been diagnosed with terminal colon cancer. Over the course of his life, he taught at several prestigious universities, including Syracuse University, UC Berkeley, and, by... Read The Denial of Death Summary

Book Details & Major ThemesJon Gordon’s 2007 self-help book The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy was a Wall Street Journal best-seller and tells the fictional tale of a man named George who, after a chance meeting with a unique bus driver, triumphs over serious career and marital problems using the power of positive energy. Both a work of fiction and a how-to manual on team-building, The... Read The Energy Bus Summary

... Read The Family Crucible Summary

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... Read The Fifth Discipline Summary

... Read The First 90 Days Summary

... Read The Five Dysfunctions Of A Team Summary

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz was first published in 1997. Born into a family of healers and shamans, Ruiz dedicated his life to creating a philosophy that blends ancient Toltec wisdom with modern sensibilities. After its publication, The Four Agreements stayed on the New York Times Best Seller list for 10 years and ranked as the 36th best seller of the decade. Many celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey... Read The Four Agreements Summary

In his 2008 nonfiction book The Geography of Bliss, Eric Weiner travels the world in search of happiness. Weiner, a former foreign correspondent for National Public Radio, sets out in this travelogue to investigate where in the world people are the most happy—and why. Casting himself as an inveterately cranky person, Weiner mixes humor, scientific inquiry, and psychological research to explain geographic concentrations of elevated mood. Since its publication, the book has been on the... Read The Geography of Bliss Summary

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The Gifts of Imperfection: Your Guide to Wholehearted Living (2022) by Brené Brown (originally published as The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are in 2010) introduces the key concepts that have become a signature of Brown’s research, such as reclaiming the importance of vulnerability and defining shame as an obstacle to self-development and connection. The original book spent 75 weeks on The New... Read The Gifts of Imperfection Summary

The Goal, originally published in 1984 by North River Press, is part of a subset of business writing intended for managerial training. In the tradition of Who Moved My Cheese? and Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Master Business and Life, The Goal is a fictional fable directed at executives to help them improve organizational culture and productivity. The Goal was one of the first such publications and introduced the idea of the Theory of... Read The Goal Summary

... Read The Greatest Salesman in the World Summary

... Read The Happiness Trap Summary

... Read The Hard Thing About Hard Things Summary

... Read The How of Happiness Summary

... Read The Infinite Game Summary

... Read The Innovator's Dilemma Summary

... Read The Intelligent Investor Summary