Self-help books are a quintessentially American literary form. When de Tocqueville first visited the United States in the nineteenth century, he commented on the fierce individualism and overt religious devotion of the people. These two basic themes – of self-reliance and faith – had already been enshrined in foundation myths such as Benjamin Franklin’s famous book of virtues, where he would dutifully record his daily achievements. This was the first “balanced scorecard”, so to speak. Of course young Ben Franklin was finally advised to add one final, missing virtue – humility.

Humility is not the first word we might necessarily associate with the lucrative self-improvement industry that has created many millionaires in modern America. Interestingly, the success of self-help books has usually been in inverse relationship to the economic prosperity of the times – it was Depression-era economics that helped spawn the massive success of Dale Carnegie’s “How To Win Friends and Influence People” (1937).

Scholars in the self-help field such as Butler-Bowdon have noted a fundamental divide in self-development books, between those that advocate strenuous personal effort and diligence to effect change and those that teach a spiritual reliance on a higher power. This can most clearly be illustrated in the contrast between Tony Robbins books, which stress the autonomy of the individual, and Rhonda Byrne’s “The Secret” which is a cosmic ordering classic. These books are rooted in New Thought classics of the early twentieth century and propose a pliant universe that will delivers “feedback” in response to the correct vibrations. An intriguing self-help book that links the two philosophical concepts is “Bustin’ Loose From the Money Game” by Bob Scheinfeld, which is a riff on the old saw that the individual creates his own illusion, namely the visible universe.

Many sceptics condescendingly dismiss self-help as literature that peddles false hope to the weak-minded. Yet to deny this cultural form is to also reject some of the basic Enlightenment values of human perfectibility and the possibility of progress. Essentially self-help books are offering packaged hope. They celebrate the idea that certain actions – be they affirmations, goal structures or mere directed thoughts – can deliver tangible and sustainable results. Whereas sanctification of character was a lifelong process for a medieval Catholic, the modern self book prefers the words of St. Paul, that “in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, we will be changed”. (1 Cor 15:52). And some of this messianic fervour can be seen at self help rallies and conventions the world over.

Self help books can serve as both an alternative to traditional belief for the religiously disinclined, or even as an adjunct to Christian beliefs in personal reformation. The term “prosperity gospel” has become a term of criticism for those preachers who make too explicit a connection between material and spiritual success.

It remains to be seen how the genre of self-help literature will develop in coming decades. The electronic globalization of the world has opened up entirely new frontiers of communication between the gurus and the audience – from tweets to social networks to on-line marketing ventures promising a virtual Klondike to be accessed by the power of faith. The best self-help books will not be constrained by the physical page for long.

Finally it should be recognised that self-help literature has moved beyond its original moorings in Depression-era Americana to become a global phenomenon. Tony Robbins books sell worldwide and his explosive, dynamic seminars link the aspirant middle classes of Asia, Europe and the Antipodes. The universal appeal of the self help message is nothing new. The first exponent of self-help literature was of course Samuel Smiles, who penned “Self-Help” in 1859 as the ideal paean to the tremendous Victorian age of industry and endeavour. He was of course British.