From the inside jacket of the 1944 edition:
"A sound, simply written book about why people act as they do. The author believes, and quite rightly, that the joy of living and the art of supporting oneself spring largely from understanding human nature. Our happiness in personal relationships and our success in work depend increasingly on our social competence. In excellent order and interesting style, Wendell White suggests ways of dealing with people that make them like us and go along with us.
With good common sense, he explains, our fundamental longings and needs, and points to their fulfillment. He takes up our desire for a feeling of personal worth - the deep-rooted feeling that we amount to something among our fellows. He shows the importance of change and breadth of experience, and of other forms of variety, in making life interesting. He shows the leading role played by the need of love, and by the all-pervading need of a sense of security. By helping others attain these things, we gain power to attract and influence people - one of the surest guarantees of personal happiness and success. Wendell White, a graduate of the University of Iowa, is (was) Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Minnesota, where he has been teaching for seventeen years.