How long does it take to read Self-help?
Samuel Smiles
Self-help by Samuel Smiles takes about 7 hours 5 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 7 hours 5 minutes
A weekend read
First published 1800. 386 pages, about 106,150 words.
15 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 11 hours 48 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 7 hours 5 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 4 hours 25 minutes |
The page count is the median across 58 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
Samuel Smiles's Self-Help, with the subtitle Illustrations of Character and Conduct, appears in 1859 and argues that relying on oneself is morally and economically better than depending on others. Smiles praises industry and perseverance, and he holds that society advances through the habits of individuals rather than through collective action or legislation. Even so, he doesn't apply laissez-faire to areas such as public health and education. His argument draws on Enlightenment ideas about environment, the late maturing of the intellect, and a benevolent natural order. Chapters cover inventors, potters, artists, business, money, courage, and character.
This summary was written by AI and checked by a second AI model. How these are chosen.
Subjects: Conduct of life, Entrepreneur, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Self-Improvement, Self-actualization (Psychology)
