Occult Book Store
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
RRP: $14.99
Our Price: $13.49
You Save: $ 1.50 ( 10% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Wilder Publications
Author: Charles MacKay
Publisher: Wilder Publications
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $13.49
You Save: $ 1.50 ( 10% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Wilder Publications
Author: Charles MacKay
Publisher: Wilder Publications
Average Customer Rating:
Experimental feature: Order Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds from the UK, Canada, Germany or France by clicking an appropriate flag below.
Some items available at Amazon.com are not available in all countries.
Some items available at Amazon.com are not available in all countries.
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 302
EAN: 9781604594416
ISBN: 1604594411
Label: Wilder Publications
Manufacturer: Wilder Publications
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 440
Publication Date: 2008-08-01
Publisher: Wilder Publications
Studio: Wilder Publications
Dewey Decimal Number: 302
EAN: 9781604594416
ISBN: 1604594411
Label: Wilder Publications
Manufacturer: Wilder Publications
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 440
Publication Date: 2008-08-01
Publisher: Wilder Publications
Studio: Wilder Publications
Editorial Review of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is a history of popular folly by Charles Mackay. The book chronicles its targets in three parts: "National Delusions," "Peculiar Follies," and "Philosophical Delusions." Learn why intelligent people do amazingly stupid things when caught up in speculative edevorse. The subjects of Mackay's debunking include alchemy, beards (influence of politics and religion on), witch-hunts, crusades and duels. Present day writers on economics, such as Andrew Tobias, laud the three chapters on economic bubbles.
Customer Reviews of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Informative and entertaining - it earns its status as a classic
Review: In the weeks before the election, as the financial crisis spun ever farther out of control and the pundits' shrieks grew ever more shrill, I browsed through "Popular Delusions.." and found solace. Charles Mackay's extraordinary survey of the various manifestations of mass hysteria throughout history cannot help but offer perspective. He reminds us that, no matter how battily crazy a particular fad might seem, it's already been done by our ancestors. There is truly nothing new under the sun; the catalog of human daftness, though entertainingly long and varied, is nonetheless finite.
It's all here in Mackay's book, laid out with a kind of detached amusement that leaves no doubt as to where the author stands.
Market craziness got you down? It may cheer you up to read about the Mississippi scheme that wrought such havoc on the French treasury in the 18th century, while the South Sea Bubble engulfed the English, or to refresh your memory on Holland's infamous Tulipomanic excesses.
Three of the longer sections of the book are devoted to alchemy, the crusades, and witch-hunting. By the accumulation of examples and anecdotes across the geographical and historical spectrum (i.e. from different times and places), Mackay demonstrates that human folly remains a constant down the ages. He doesn't beat us over the head with this message - he simply assembles the data, with no overt analysis, and leaves us to draw the inevitable conclusion.
Most of your favorite targets are discussed in the book: eschatological prophets, fortune tellers, spiritualists, mediums, and the good Dr Mesmer and his imitators. The anecdotes are often hilarious, even more so because of Mackay's tone of dry amusement. But he knows when to administer the coup de grace, as for example, when he shows how easy it is to attribute post hoc meaning to the notoriously vague quatrains of Nostradamus. One can only wish that the folks at The History Channel would read these sections and take them to heart.
Shorter chapters are interspersed on topics as diverse as the wave of spouse-poisoning that swept through the courts of Europe in the 17th century, the influence of politics and religion on men's hair and beard styles, haunted houses, popular admiration of great thieves, duels, relics, and the sudden rise and fall of certain catchphrases or songs in big cities. (Yadda yadda yadda, anyone?)
This book is ideal for browsing. It's all pretty interesting stuff, presented clearly and wittily. You can learn quite a bit and enjoy yourself doing so - what's not to like?
Its classic status is well-deserved.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Charles Mackay Extraordinary Popular Delusuions and the Madness of Crowds
Review: Thank you for sending me this book. In fact, because of an administrative mixup, I received two, but I shall be giving the second one to one of my friends. I had never suspected that any person writing as early as 1852 had viewed the large scale adoption of religeous or financial convictions in terms of a moral epidemic. When these convictions are misleading the results can be disastrous. What seems extraordinary at the time is that the general opinion is blind to the mistaken perceptions, even though one would think that a moment's rational thought would reveal their absurdity. The mistaken perceptions can be viewed as an illness,which can only be cured when the effects become evident. The vast financial bubbles that are bursting all over the world are a symptom of such madness.The fact that the madness has been global in extent is extraordinary.Therefore I believe that this book should be required reading for everyone, even though it is now too late to avoid the consequences of ten years of global madness.Please read this book.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A fun and easy read on the stupidity of people
Review: I really enjoyed this book. Often, people seem to think the problems of the modern world are new and insurmountable issues. This book shows the cycle of life is just that, a cycle. Working on the stock market, I'm constantly assailed with the negative news of the day. This book cites examples of the same issues we now face... only these examples come from roughly 300 years ago.
I am amazed that, as a species, we still cannot seem to learn from our past. This book shows that unregulated markets are rife with corruption, and the ignorant often suffer. Looking at our current housing market crisis, I see many similarities with the corruption and suffering of generations past. Within these pages, unscrupulous people will learn to profit. Of course, those same unscrupulous people will also be the ones crying for deregulation. There is a lesson to be learned here. Pick up the book and enjoy.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A classic must-read! Very, very insightful!
Review: This book identifies and describes phenomena that most would assume to be foreseable and evident when observed as historical event.
However such manic human behavior keeps occuring over and over again, which inevitably (as history observes) have destructive consequences.
As many others have noted, this book is hard to read and it could certainly be written using much simpler vocabulary and probably in a fraction of its length.
However one must keep in mind that this book was initially written almost 200 years ago!
Personally, I value this book for the insights it offers into the history of crowd's delusions.
Consequently, the reader will hopefully be able to identify such manias in the future and act accordingly - assuming that he can remain detached enough from the mania itself.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: This book is a popular delusion
Review: The most boring book ever. No theory, no ideas, just page after page of stuff you already know. There is almost 200 pages on Alchemist. Nuff said.
Review Summary: Informative and entertaining - it earns its status as a classic
Review: In the weeks before the election, as the financial crisis spun ever farther out of control and the pundits' shrieks grew ever more shrill, I browsed through "Popular Delusions.." and found solace. Charles Mackay's extraordinary survey of the various manifestations of mass hysteria throughout history cannot help but offer perspective. He reminds us that, no matter how battily crazy a particular fad might seem, it's already been done by our ancestors. There is truly nothing new under the sun; the catalog of human daftness, though entertainingly long and varied, is nonetheless finite.
It's all here in Mackay's book, laid out with a kind of detached amusement that leaves no doubt as to where the author stands.
Market craziness got you down? It may cheer you up to read about the Mississippi scheme that wrought such havoc on the French treasury in the 18th century, while the South Sea Bubble engulfed the English, or to refresh your memory on Holland's infamous Tulipomanic excesses.
Three of the longer sections of the book are devoted to alchemy, the crusades, and witch-hunting. By the accumulation of examples and anecdotes across the geographical and historical spectrum (i.e. from different times and places), Mackay demonstrates that human folly remains a constant down the ages. He doesn't beat us over the head with this message - he simply assembles the data, with no overt analysis, and leaves us to draw the inevitable conclusion.
Most of your favorite targets are discussed in the book: eschatological prophets, fortune tellers, spiritualists, mediums, and the good Dr Mesmer and his imitators. The anecdotes are often hilarious, even more so because of Mackay's tone of dry amusement. But he knows when to administer the coup de grace, as for example, when he shows how easy it is to attribute post hoc meaning to the notoriously vague quatrains of Nostradamus. One can only wish that the folks at The History Channel would read these sections and take them to heart.
Shorter chapters are interspersed on topics as diverse as the wave of spouse-poisoning that swept through the courts of Europe in the 17th century, the influence of politics and religion on men's hair and beard styles, haunted houses, popular admiration of great thieves, duels, relics, and the sudden rise and fall of certain catchphrases or songs in big cities. (Yadda yadda yadda, anyone?)
This book is ideal for browsing. It's all pretty interesting stuff, presented clearly and wittily. You can learn quite a bit and enjoy yourself doing so - what's not to like?
Its classic status is well-deserved.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Charles Mackay Extraordinary Popular Delusuions and the Madness of Crowds
Review: Thank you for sending me this book. In fact, because of an administrative mixup, I received two, but I shall be giving the second one to one of my friends. I had never suspected that any person writing as early as 1852 had viewed the large scale adoption of religeous or financial convictions in terms of a moral epidemic. When these convictions are misleading the results can be disastrous. What seems extraordinary at the time is that the general opinion is blind to the mistaken perceptions, even though one would think that a moment's rational thought would reveal their absurdity. The mistaken perceptions can be viewed as an illness,which can only be cured when the effects become evident. The vast financial bubbles that are bursting all over the world are a symptom of such madness.The fact that the madness has been global in extent is extraordinary.Therefore I believe that this book should be required reading for everyone, even though it is now too late to avoid the consequences of ten years of global madness.Please read this book.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A fun and easy read on the stupidity of people
Review: I really enjoyed this book. Often, people seem to think the problems of the modern world are new and insurmountable issues. This book shows the cycle of life is just that, a cycle. Working on the stock market, I'm constantly assailed with the negative news of the day. This book cites examples of the same issues we now face... only these examples come from roughly 300 years ago.
I am amazed that, as a species, we still cannot seem to learn from our past. This book shows that unregulated markets are rife with corruption, and the ignorant often suffer. Looking at our current housing market crisis, I see many similarities with the corruption and suffering of generations past. Within these pages, unscrupulous people will learn to profit. Of course, those same unscrupulous people will also be the ones crying for deregulation. There is a lesson to be learned here. Pick up the book and enjoy.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A classic must-read! Very, very insightful!
Review: This book identifies and describes phenomena that most would assume to be foreseable and evident when observed as historical event.
However such manic human behavior keeps occuring over and over again, which inevitably (as history observes) have destructive consequences.
As many others have noted, this book is hard to read and it could certainly be written using much simpler vocabulary and probably in a fraction of its length.
However one must keep in mind that this book was initially written almost 200 years ago!
Personally, I value this book for the insights it offers into the history of crowd's delusions.
Consequently, the reader will hopefully be able to identify such manias in the future and act accordingly - assuming that he can remain detached enough from the mania itself.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: This book is a popular delusion
Review: The most boring book ever. No theory, no ideas, just page after page of stuff you already know. There is almost 200 pages on Alchemist. Nuff said.