Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) was an American writer and lecturer. Following a career as a salesman he developed courses on public speaking and confidence-building which were given across America. The courses evolved into How To Win Friends and Influence People, which became the bestselling non-fiction title of its time. Carnegie's insight was that the most successful people in any organisation are not those with the most experience or expertise, but who have the best people skills-and these skills can be learned.

Tom Butler-Bowdon is editor of the Capstone Classics series and has written introductions to Machiavelli's The Prince, Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich, and Wallace Wattles' The Science of Getting Rich. A graduate of the London School of Economics, he is also the author of 50 Self-Help Classics, 50 Success Classics, and 50 Psychology Classics.