• This Edition of As A Man Thinketh is the Original 1902 Edition and Is Annotated.

James Allen was born on November 28, 1864 in Leicester, England. In 1879, in an effort to support his family and help his failed stocking knitting business, Allen's father traveled to the United States in search of ways to help his business and possibly settle there. Ill-fatedly, he was most likely murdered before his family could join him.

Because his family was under financial duress, James Allen left school and started working to earn money. He first worked as a framework knitter as his father had done. He then went on to become a private secretary until he retired. In 1895, he married Lily Louisa Oram. They later had a daughter named Nora.

In 1902, James Allen published As A Man Thinketh, a Book Based on Proverbs 23:7: "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..."