Relationships
Helping to navigate human nature and emotions, relationship books cover everything you could experience during your lifetime. They're an appealing resource for how to make friends, network professionally, and form long-lasting partnerships, or simply, how to deal with day-to-day situations. The authors vary as much as the subject matters and range from therapists, entrepreneurs, and lecturers to community leaders and everyday people just speaking from first-hand knowledge. Spanning humor, sadness, and sensibility, there's a tone to fit every personality.
Writers have been putting advice on paper long before Deepak Chopra's meditations. From the ancient Egyptian teachings known as 'sebayt', to the wisdom of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, history is ripe with these imparted opinions. Etiquette, particularly within business dealings, became a favorite theme for the 'savoir-vivre' essays in the 1600s and the 'Mutual Improvement Societies' leaflets in the 19th century. In 1859, Samuel Smiles created one of the key examples of vintage relationship books, aptly named Self-Help. The best way to interact with others continued to propagate literary themes from the 1900s on. Topics interestingly varied, such as the 1922 musings of The Do's and Dont's for Business Women and one of the earliest celebrity journals, Douglas Fairbanks' 1917 Laugh and Live.
Although many think of Dr. Spock and William Sears as parenting advice pioneers, published tips for child-rearing began in the mid-1700s. Almost 100 years later, the bluntly named Advice to Mother, and then pediatric pamphlets by the U. S. Department of Labor, began the trend for non-fiction relationship books that addressed parental concerns and questions.
Self-help and relationship materials constantly adapt to the times, which is why you'll find Cyberflirt focusing on online dating, and in today's future-conscious climate, Raising Kids Who Will Make a Difference. Browse AbeBooks to buy relationship books, from crisp copies of The Stakeholder Strategy: Profiting from Collaborative Business Relationships to second-hand editions of Be the Person You Want to Find. Collect the stories you need for inspiration.