THE ART OF SELFISHNESS

by David Seabury ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

Seabury has a reliable market and his readers usually count on him for practical psychology which they can apply to themselves. The publisher is going to push it, and full page advertising is scheduled for the Times, etc. BUT -- it is a disappointing book. Given an excellent thesis, he has given us an adolescent pep talk. Repetitious, boring after a time, spread thin over everything, from finance to sex. He talks on the conscious level with the slogan ""If I want I can"" -- which is fundamentally unsound. There's a sense of high pressure salesmanship in the style, reaching out for the popularity of Wake Up and Live, Life Beings at Forty and How To Win Friends, but without the wit of the first, the dignity of the second, the trick popularity of the third. Gauged to the level of intelligence of True Stories -- and yet, buried in the claptrap, there are statements suggesting the old Seabury. The first half of the book is the better part, but all in all, it is a pot boiler. Don't sell to your intelligent customers, unless they demand it. Seabury's name is sure to create a good many sales.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Messner

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1937

Categories: NONFICTION