… and will probably never hear of again.
- A quick exploration of the newly digitalized U.S. Government Copyright database reveals personal development books we’ve all missed — for better or worse.
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| Rare photo of obscure personal development author Richard Flock shortly after his retirement, signing autographs for fans. |
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Out of curiosity more than anything, I spent some time with the newly digitalized U.S. Government Copyright Office database, and stumbled across a number of registered personal development books that, had history been slightly different, may have become mainstays … or not.
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As far as I have been able to determine, all of these are either long out of print or never made it into publication.
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Here, then, are ten not-quites, also-rans, or dead-last-but-finisheds, lost to us all.
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1937: Think and Grow Hair, by Napoleon Frill.
1960: Success Through a Vertical Bodily Attitude, by W. Cement Wall.
1968: The Greatest Ego in the World, by Claude Bambino.
1970: Jonathan Horatio Pigeon, by Richard Flock.
(Flock followed this in 1977 with Delusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Paranoiac.)
1971: A Separate Legality, by Carlos Capias ad Satisfaciendum.
1976: Your Extraneous Bones, by Dr. Dwayne Dwyer.
1980: The Way of the Peaceful Curmudgeon, by Dan Grindstone.
(I did manage to find Grindstone’s book many years ago, and I point to it as a major influence in my life.)
1984: You Can Heal Your Wife, by Louise Melee.
1989: The Seven Habits of Strongly Offensive People, by Steven Cranky.
And, only a couple of years ago in 2007: Personal Improvement for Smartie-Pantses, by Steve Urkel.
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© 2009, by Daniel Brenton. All Rights Reserved.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
The book on healing your wife sounds a bit dangerous.
Good stuff, Daniel! I’d like to get a copy of “The Greatest Ego in the World” by Bambino.
A list of 10…this is more difficult than it looks. I just scanned our bookshelves in the attempt to add to your list.
So far, this is what we know…I am not a comedian. Mind you, this begs the question, if a comedian cracks a joke and no one is there to laugh, is he funny?
Daniel, this was fun to read!
Warmly;
Marianna
@AuntieStress
And if a comedian bombs in a club, and there is no one to see it, did he really flop?
Thanks for the comment. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
– Daniel