How to Win Friends and Influence People in publication, Carnegie originally began writing small booklets to go along with his courses. After one of his 14-week courses, he was approached by publisher Leon Shimkin of the publishing house Simon & Schuster. Shimkin urged Carnegie to write a book, but he was not initially persuaded. Shimken then hired a stenographer to type up what he heard in one of Carnegie's long lectures and presented the transcript to Carnegie. Dale Carnegie liked the transcript so much he decided to edit and revise it into a final form. He wanted it to be extremely practical and interesting to read. To
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (memoir) published that same year. Young's book does not reference either Carnegie's or Tressler's works. The aggregate site iDreamBooks lists 12 mixed reviews. The book was adapted into a one-man play that played on London's West End for several months each in 2003 and 2004. Young was initially played by Jack Davenport, then by Young himself. A feature-length film adaptation, also titled "How to Lose Friends & Alienate People", was released in October 2008. It is directed by Robert B. Weide and stars Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, and Megan Fox. The film is loosely based on the book, turning the plot