Think and Grow Rich is a classic in the business world. Napoleon Hill not only lays out for you the thought patterns of the rich and successful, but he gives you specific actions to take to make these thought patterns your own. If followed diligently, Mr. Hill's advice will change how you think about money, yourself and your life. I give this book as a gift to my adult children who are getting ready to make a life for themselves. It is essential reading for any one who is determined to be successful.

After finishing "Think and Grow Rich" I have suddenly realized that this simple slogan is the single way of life in a capitalist society. In this book, as the only way of getting rich, the author advocates goal-directed way of life, purposefulness, constant self-perfection, courage, the skill to think and to act, and the other similar traits of character.

Many people came to a conclusion that the wealth, in some extent, depends on a level of education, motivation, self-esteem, and so on. The problem is that not all the people in equal extend incline to the education, to their self-improvement. This is because of the differences of their needs, habits, abilities, capabilities, and so on. Leo Tolstoy in his novel "Resurrection" arose a question of how to improve the level of education within a society: from inside of each individual or from outside? Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Should first the level of education of each and every individual be risen which yields a revolution (dialectic transition of quantity into quality) or the revolution should make the environment to foster the education of every individual?

The traits advocated by Napoleon Hill correspond to the first Leo Tolstoy's way of improving society. If each and every individual will improve, the society will automatically improve. The second way of Leo Tolstoy (create the environment which will foster the education of every individual) is contrary to Napoleon Hill's ideas: "if something is got for free or without big effort, it won't be appreciated, won't be handled with care or you won't trust it". Free education and medical care won't be respected properly by people, regardless how good this education and medical care are. That's why the socialist society will develop slower than capitalist. Marxists knew this and have built the concept of World revolution (to overthrow of capitalism in all countries), and a further idea by Trotsky that it was impossible to build socialism in a single country. Trotsky wrote that the socialist economy is not as efficient as capitalist and without the World revolution the USSR won't be able to overcome its economic underperformance.

Napoleon Hill praises the freedom and opportunities of the capitalist society of the U.S. in particular, which gives, according to Napoleon Hill, boundless opportunities for an individual who is able to think and grow rich.

I also recommend "The Road to Serfdom" by F. A. Hayek in addition to this book. Although "Think and Grow Rich" is a classical self-help book for a general reader while "The Road to Serfdom" is mostly academic, I think that both of them should be read.

This is my third reading of Think and Grow Rich. This time I am reading it not as a novel but more of a teaching book. Take the lessons to heart and do them as stated in the book. If you read it like I did the first two times it won't get you very far. I am really excited about where it is taking me now.

I agree with the review about the misprints. There were so many blatant errors that it affected the readability. The proof reader should have been transferred to another job.

It was about retraining your thoughts. I received one good idea from it, which was more of a reminder. And that was to write out; what you want, how you plan on getting it and how much your willing to give/do to get it.