October 5, 1952: Norman Vincent Peale Publishes “The Power of Positive Thinking”

October 5, 1952: The Rev. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale publishes The Power of Positive Thinking: A Practical Guide to Mastering the Problems of Everyday Living. It becomes one of the best-selling books of all time.

It is a self-help book that provides anecdotal "case histories" of positive thinking, using a  biblical approach, and practical instructions which were designed to help the reader achieve a permanent and optimistic attitude. These techniques usually involved affirmations and visualizations. Peale claimed that such techniques would give the reader a higher satisfaction and quality of life.

The book was negatively reviewed by scholars and health experts, but was popular among the general public. It sold 2.5 million copies in its 1st 4 years. As of 2022, it has sold over 20 million, more than all but 5 non-fiction books published before it. (Many have surpassed it since.)

Born in 1898 in southwestern Ohio, Norman Vincent Peale got his bachelor's degree from Ohio Wesleyan University, his masters in sacred theology from Boston University's School of Theology (where Martin Luther King got his Ph.D.), and his his Doctor of Divinity degree from Syracuse University. He served as pastor of Marble Collegiate Church in in New York from 1951 to his retirement in 1984.

Peale wrote over 40 books, but none got him as much notoriety as The Power of Positive Thinking. What did get him some notoriety was his comments during the 1960 Presidential election. With John F. Kennedy as the Democratic Party's nominee, Peale said, "Faced with the election of a Catholic, our culture is at stake."

At the time, there were 3 leading Protestant clergymen in America: Peale, Billy Graham, and Reinhold Niebuhr. Graham also didn't want Kennedy, despite being a lifelong Democrat. But Niebuhr responded that Peale was motivated by "blind prejudice." Facing intense public criticism, Peale retracted his statement.

In 1952, with his book a new sensation, he had opposed Adlai Stevenson's Presidential candidacy, because Stevenson was divorced. The Governor of Illinois responded, "I find Saint Paul appealing, and Saint Peale appalling."

In spite of all the books he wrote, especially the one, Peale had been pretty much forgotten by the time he died, on Christmas Eve 1993. He was 95 years old.

A comedian named Ronnie Shakes liked to say, "I thought about buying a copy of The Power of Positive Thinking, but decided, What good would that do?" Maybe he would have changed his life: He died in 1987, from a heart attack while jogging, only 40 years old.

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October 5, 1952 was a Sunday. Game 5 of the World Series was played at Yankee Stadium. Duke Snider doubled home the winning run in the top of the 11th inning, and the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Yankees, 6-5. Carl Erskine pitched all 11 innings for the Brooks.

Game 6 and, if necessary, Game 7 would be at Ebbets Field. As their broadcaster Red Barber would have said, the Dodgers were sitting in the catbird seat. But the Yankees would knock them out of that seat.

And these games were played in the NFL:

* The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 31-7 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The Chicago Cardinals beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Bears, 21-10 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Washington Redskins, 35-20 at Marquette Stadium in Milwaukee.

* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Dallas Texans, 37-14 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The following season, the Texans became the 2nd edition of the Baltimore Colts.

* And the Detroit Lions beat the Los Angeles Rams, 17-14 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.