The Shining Gateway

Book excerpt: Self-help books aim to help the reader with problems, offering them clear and effective guidance on how obstacles can be passed and solutions found, especially with regard to common issues and day-to-day life. Such books take their name from the 1859 best-selling “Self-Help” by Samuel Smiles, and are often also referred to as "self-improvement" books. “The Shining Gateway” is a 1915 self-help book by British writer James Allen that explores desire, passion, and sorrow, outlining how these things can be overcome to foster a happier and more peaceful life. James Allen (1864–1912) was a British writer most famous for his inspirational poetry and being an early leader of the self-help movement. “As a Man Thinketh” (1903), his best known work, has been a significant source of inspiration for many self-help authors. Contents include: “The Shining Gateway of Meditation”, “Temptation”, “Regeneration”, “Actions and Motives”, “Morality and Religion”, “Memory, Repetition and Habit”, “Words and Wisdom”, “Truth and Manifest”, “Spiritual Humility”, etc. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with an Essay on the nature of virtue by Percy Bysshe Shelley.