A nation of jerks

In 'Set Boundaries, Find Peace,' Nedra Glover Tawwab provides simple yet powerful strategies for setting and maintaining healthy boundaries. The book is based on the latest research and best practices in CBT and addresses issues such as codependency, power struggles, anxiety, depression, and burnout. Tawwab offers practical tips on how to identify and express needs clearly, deal with guilt and discomfort associated with setting boundaries, and communicate effectively in various relationships, including family, romantic partners, friends, and at work. The book emphasizes the importance of self-boundaries and mature communication in achieving work-life balance and rewarding relationships.

This book provides simple strategies to help readers manage stress and anxiety by focusing on what truly matters. It emphasizes the importance of living in the present, letting go of minor irritations, and cultivating a more relaxed and compassionate approach to life. The book was a huge success, spending over 101 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list and being published in 135 countries and translated into numerous languages.

Radical Candor by Kim Scott offers a practical approach to management by emphasizing the importance of caring personally and challenging directly. The book argues that effective managers must find a balance between being empathetic and providing clear, honest feedback. Scott draws from her experiences at Google and Apple to provide actionable lessons on building strong relationships, giving feedback, and creating a collaborative work environment. The book introduces the concept of 'radical candor' as the sweet spot between obnoxious aggression and ruinous empathy, and provides tools and strategies for managers to implement this approach in their daily work.

Meditations is a series of private writings composed by Marcus Aurelius, one of Rome's greatest emperors, as he struggled to understand himself and make sense of the universe. Written between 170 and 180 CE while on military campaigns, this work combines Stoic philosophy with personal observations on leadership, duty, mortality, and human nature. Through twelve books of intimate thoughts never intended for publication, Marcus Aurelius explores themes of self-improvement, resilience in the face of adversity, and living virtuously while accepting what cannot be changed.

Published in 1859, 'Self-Help' by Samuel Smiles is a landmark in the self-help genre. The book advocates for personal responsibility and the virtues of hard work, industry, and character. It uses numerous biographical examples, including those of George Stephenson and Josiah Wedgwood, to illustrate how individuals can achieve success through their own efforts. The book was highly influential in Victorian Britain and beyond, selling over a quarter of a million copies by the time of Smiles' death in 1904. It has been translated into many languages and remains a significant text in the history of self-help literature.