How to Win Friends and Influence People How to Win Friends and Influence People How to Win Friends and Influence People is a self-help book written by Dale Carnegie, published in 1936. Over 15 million copies have been sold worldwide, making it one of the best-selling books of all time. In 2011, it was number 19 on "Time Magazine"s list of the 100 most influential books. In 1934, Leon Shimkin of the publishing firm Simon & Schuster took one of Carnegie's 14-week courses; afterward, Shimkin persuaded Carnegie to let a stenographer take notes from the course to be revised for publication. The book sold exceptionally well from
The Play What I Wrote Squeeze for the Scarlet Pimple", the "play within a play" (with a cameo by a mystery guest star) which formed the play's second half. It is named after the "play wot I wrote", the inept play supposedly written by Wise and featuring a celebrity guest which formed the finale to each Morecambe and Wise show. In "The Play What I Wrote", "Sean" writes a similarly inept play and is humoured by "Hamish" in the first half by having it performed. As in the Morecambe and Wise antecedent, the celebrity would play him or herself set up to appear, rather foolishly,