Born in the mid 1800s during the War between the States, Wallace D. Wattles experienced a life of failure after failure, until — in his latter years, after tireless study and experimentation — he formulated and put into practice the principles laid out in The Science of Getting Rich.

His daughter Florence notes that in those last years, "he wrote almost constantly. It was then that he formed his mental picture. He saw himself as a successful writer, a personality of power, an advancing man, and he began to work toward the realization of this vision. He lived every page ... His life was truly the powerful life."

Although Mr. Wattles died relatively young, and although his work was largely forgotten for years, those who have studied and applied these principles throughout the 20th century have experienced remarkable results: They have gotten rich!