One Simple Idea: How the Lessons of Positive Thinking Can Transform Your Life By Mitch Horowitz

Mitch Horowitz follows the positive-thinking movement through American religious and popular culture in One Simple Idea. Figures including Dale Carnegie and Norman Vincent Peale appear in a history of how metaphysical ideas became familiar messages about success.

This paperback also includes exercises for readers who want to explore the ideas in daily life. Horowitz’s interest in their practical value accompanies the cultural history; positive thinking is not presented here as a guaranteed remedy for illness, hardship or structural disadvantage.