#  Bridging the Gap: Self-Help Books as Accessible Introductions to Other Genres and Cultures 

 





November 07, 2024

 

 

The use of self-help as an introduction to other genres such as fiction is a rather old one. In 1859, British author Samuel Smiles published “Self-Help,” writing about the industrial revolution and money and promoting individualism through self-improvement. Besides enjoying popularity in the English-speaking world, the text was translated into Japanese in 1871, becoming a bestseller by selling over a million copies, and business-wise, greatly influencing the founder of Toyota, Sakichi Toyoda.

Beyond descriptions of middle-class workers and their successes, “Self-Help” also included quotes from the literary works of Shakespeare and Keats among others, and unintentionally served as an entry point into English literary classics.

In the 2020 book, “The Self-Help Compulsion: Searching for Advice in Modern Literature,” Harvard associate professor Beth Blum analyzed how the authors mentioned by Smiles were widely translated in Japan, whereas others remained unnoticed.  
  
Read more [here](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/11/7/self-help-books-accessible-introductions-cultures-genres/).



 

 

 



 

 

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