A method, and the beliefs beneath it.
The Science of Getting Rich
Seventeen short chapters connect purposeful action, gratitude and imagined possibility to a spiritual theory of prosperity. Wattles asks readers to think creatively rather than competitively. The interest today lies partly in watching how an early twentieth-century writer gives conviction the language of a method—and where that confidence asks more of the evidence than the text provides.
Begin reading
01 / A place to begin
A spoiler-light introduction.
Begin with what the preface asks you to accept.
Seventeen short chapters connect purposeful action, gratitude and imagined possibility to a spiritual theory of prosperity. Wattles asks readers to think creatively rather than competitively. The interest today lies partly in watching how an early twentieth-century writer gives conviction the language of a method—and where that confidence asks more of the evidence than the text provides.
Wallace D. Wattles (1860–1911) was an American New Thought writer. Published by Elizabeth Towne in Holyoke, Massachusetts, in 1910, this work links wealth to a metaphysical account of thought and action. Its historical influence is useful to explore alongside, rather than as a substitute for, questions about opportunity and economic conditions.
The title’s science reflects Wattles’s own claim about his spiritual method. The resource presents this as a historical belief, not a proven wealth formula, money guarantee, investment strategy or financial advice.
Sources: CiNii Books: 1910 Towne bibliographic record · Penguin Random House: Tarcher paperback · Simon & Schuster: official Sirius distributor record
Reader note
The title’s science reflects Wattles’s own claim about his spiritual method. The resource presents this as a historical belief, not a proven wealth formula, money guarantee, investment strategy or financial advice.
- First publication
- 1910
- Form
- Historical motivational nonfiction
- Original language
- English
- Publication note
- First book publication: 1910, Elizabeth Towne.
02 / Ways of looking
Choose a reading lens.
Three original prompts. Pick the question you want to carry into the book.
Your reading prompt
Premises
Read the preface closely.
Track what Wattles asks the reader to accept before the method begins. Which claims need support beyond the assertion?
Action
Place thinking beside doing.
Compare the chapters about thought with those about efficient action. What role does the argument assign to each?
Limits
Notice the account’s missing conditions.
Which resources or circumstances fall outside a promise centred on individual thought? Keep those limits visible as you read.
03 / The copy desk
Find the edition for you.
Outside sellers and libraries handle purchases and loans. They determine stock, prices, condition, eligibility, and waits. Routes and bibliographic details checked .
All 3 reading routes shown.
The Science of Getting Rich — Tarcher edition
Paperback
Choose this paperback to read the main work alongside Wattles’s companion essay.
- Publisher
- Tarcher / Penguin Random House
- ISBN
- 9781585426010
- Edition date
- 2007-04-19
- Pages
- 160
- Extra material
- Modern reprint with a companion essay. No explicit unabridged or adaptation statement for this ISBN was verified for this edition. Includes the classic essay How to Get What You Want; 160-page paperback. A new introduction or named editor has not been established for this ISBN. Editorial and adaptation details remain unspecified for this ISBN.
Selected paperback ISBN 9781585426010. Check the external provider’s current terms.
Exact ISBN discovery. Compare condition, binding, edition and delivery terms with the individual seller.
Search The Science of Getting Rich and Wallace D. Wattles through your participating library. Local licences, borrowing eligibility and availability vary; this does not establish a holding of the selected print ISBN.
The Science of Getting Rich: The Inspiring Guide to Wealth and Success (Classic Edition)
Hardcover with jacket, according to the official description
Choose this hardcover for an explicitly unabridged historical text with a contemporary introduction.
- Publisher
- Sirius / Arcturus; distributed by Simon & Schuster
- ISBN
- 9781398825895
- Edition date
- 2023-06-20
- Pages
- 112
- Extra material
- The official publisher/distributor description explicitly states original and unabridged text, plus a new introduction. Original and unabridged main text; New introduction by Tania Ahsan; Jacketed hardcover; 112 pages.
Selected hardcover with jacket, according to the official description ISBN 9781398825895. Check the external provider’s current terms.
Exact ISBN discovery. Compare condition, binding, edition and delivery terms with the individual seller.
Search The Science of Getting Rich and Wallace D. Wattles through your participating library. Local licences, borrowing eligibility and availability vary; this does not establish a holding of the selected print ISBN.
Historical text · rights below
Read the historical English text at Project Gutenberg
A historical English-language text in Project Gutenberg’s catalogue, distinct from modern revisions and introductions.
Project Gutenberg labels this specific ebook public domain in the USA. Outside the United States, check the law where you are before downloading or reusing the file. The actual file header explicitly gives this instruction; no worldwide clearance is claimed.
Reading sourceProject Gutenberg labels this specific ebook public domain in the USA. Outside the United States, check the law where you are before downloading or reusing the file. The actual file header explicitly gives this instruction; no worldwide clearance is claimed. The historical English text’s status does not license Tania Ahsan’s modern introduction, other newly added notes or translations, publisher cover art or contemporary illustrations.
04 / Alongside the book
Keep a thread.
01 / Begin with the argument
Begin with the argument.
Read the preface, then the chapters in sequence. Track what Wattles asks readers to accept before he offers a method.
02 / Thought beside action
Thought beside action.
Compare the chapters about thinking with those about acting and efficient action. Ask what the book assigns to imagination, work and circumstance.
03 / Read beside Allen
Read beside Allen.
Compare the two writers’ accounts of purpose and agency. Consider how a meditation on character becomes a promise about material prosperity.
05 / After reading
Let the questions stay.
Optional deeper reading. The panels below may discuss later events or the ending. They begin closed so you can choose when to continue.
Deeper themes · possible spoilersLook beneath the surface.
Original PointCast interpretations and prompts, rather than the author’s stated meaning. Open after reading if you want to preserve the discovery.
The authority of science
What does calling the method science do for the reader’s trust, and what evidence would that claim require?
Creativity and competition
How does the contrast between creativity and competition shape the book’s moral vision?
Gratitude and metaphysics
What role does gratitude play: attention, obligation, persuasion or metaphysics?
Reading group · discussion spoilersBring it into conversation.
These questions concern the whole work. Return to the edition you are reading for examples and compare passages rather than page numbers.
- How does the contrast between creativity and competition shape the book’s moral vision?
- What role does gratitude play: attention, obligation, persuasion or metaphysics?
- Which economic or social limits disappear when the explanation centers on individual thought?
06 / The next door
Nearby readings.
Sources / Follow the evidence
The reading is personal.
The references are inspectable.
A companion with its sources.
Library bibliographic catalog
CiNii Books: 1910 Towne bibliographic record
Author, 1910 Elizabeth Towne publication, Holyoke, LCCN 10009439, original pagination
Digital library catalog and historical primary text
Project Gutenberg ebook 59844
Specific ebook’s author, language, release date and US public-domain designation; title page and preface are in the linked file
Primary publisher
Penguin Random House: Tarcher paperback
Exact format metadata, companion essay, author dates and New Thought context
Official publisher/distributor
Simon & Schuster: official Sirius distributor record
Exact hardcover metadata, original/unabridged text status and Tania Ahsan introduction
Library discovery route
Find your library in Libby
Search The Science of Getting Rich and Wallace D. Wattles through your participating library. Local licences, borrowing eligibility and availability vary; this does not establish a holding of the selected print ISBN.
Introductions, reading lenses, pathways, and discussion prompts are original editorial copy. No book text is reproduced on this page.
The artwork was generated as an original editorial atmosphere. It is not an official cover, archival evidence, an author’s artwork, or a publisher endorsement.