James Allen was born on November 28, 1864 in Leicester, England, and died 1912 in his home country. He was one of the first authors of books dealing with the 'Power of Thought' and is considered to be one of the most famous voices of the 'New Thought Movement'. His most influental work is 'As a Man Thinketh'. This personal development classic inspired, directly or indirectly, most of the well-known authors who, after him, published books on the Power of Thought. His influence on the literature on self-empowerment remains unbroken until today. In 1901 he published his first book, 'From Poverty to Power'. The following year he released his own spiritual magazine titled 'The Light of Reason', later renamed 'The Epoch'. Also in 1902 he published his third and most famous book, 'As a Man Thinketh', which was read around the world and made James Allen - but only after his death - famous. The following years he spent writing until his death in 1912, striving to emulate his idol Leo Tolstoy. Over the last years of his life he wrote a total of 19 books. James Allen wrote, as his widow in the foreword to one of his posthumously published works related, never for the sake of mere writing and did not engage in pure theories, but only included in his books what he himself had tried in his life and found valuable and useful.