A graduate of the London School of Economics and the University of Sydney, I was working as a political adviser in Australia when, at 25, I read my first personal development book, Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Captivated by that and by titles by the likes of Anthony Robbins and M Scott Peck, I came to the view that this was an underrated field of writing. At 30, I left my first career to write the bestselling 50 Self-Help Classics, the first guide to the personal development literature and winner of the Benjamin Franklin Award (2004). This book was followed by 50 Success Classics (2004); 50 Spiritual Classics (2005); 50 Psychology Classics (2007); 50 Prosperity Classics (2008); and 50 Philosophy Classics, all published in the US and UK by Nicholas Brealey. With its commentaries on over 300 books, the series has been published in 23 languages and is sold in over 30 countries. I was described by USA Today as "a true scholar of this type of literature".The 50 Classics series titles are available individually in paperback, Kindle and audio formats, or as an electronic box set, 'The Literature of Possibility'. The free e-book by the same title is an introduction to the series.I am editor of a new series of classic self-development and prosperity writings published by Capstone (John Wiley & Sons), providing full-length critical Introductions to titles such as Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich, Sun Tzu's The Art of War, Machiavelli's The Prince and Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations. My website, Butler-Bowdon.com, with its wealth of free self-development content, has had 2 million visits since its launch in 2001.