Self-Made : The Stories That Forged an American Myth - Pamela Walker Laird

Instant online reading.
Don't wait for delivery!
Go digital and save!

Self-Made

The Stories That Forged an American Myth

By: Pamela Walker Laird

Write A Review

Hardcover | 30 October 2025

At a Glance

Hardcover
360 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.19 x 15.19 x 2.79

Hardcover

$57.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $14.44 with

Ships in 15 to 25 business days

''Self-Made'' success is now an American badge of honor that rewards individualist ambitions while it hammers against community obligations. Yet, four centuries ago, our foundational stories actually disparaged ambitious upstarts as dangerous and selfish threats to a healthy society. In Pamela Walker Laird''s fascinating history of why and how storytellers forged this American myth, she reveals how the goals for self-improvement evolved from serving the community to supporting individualist dreams of wealth and esteem. Simplistic stories of self-made success and failure emerged that disregarded people''s advantages and disadvantages and fostered inequality. Fortunately, Self-Made also recovers long-standing, alternative traditions of self-improvement to serve the common good. These challenges to the myth have offered inspiration, often coming, surprisingly, from Americans associated with self-made success, such as Benjamin Franklin, Frederick Douglass, and Horatio Alger. Here are real stories that show that no one lives - no one succeeds or fails - in a vacuum.

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $89.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.