Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds [Hardcover]

Charles MacKay (Author), John M Templeton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1985

Written by Charles Mackay in the 1840's, this landmark study of crowd psychology and mass mania throughout history includes accounts of classic scams, grand-scale madnesses and deceptions such as the Mississippi Scheme that swept France in 1720; the South Sea Bubble that ruined thousands in England at the same time; the Tulipmania of Holland, when fortunes were made and lost on single tulip bulbs. Other chapters deal with fads and delusions that often spring from valid ideas or causes - many of which still have their followers today: Alchemy and the Philosopher's Stone, the Prophecies of Nostraddamus, the Coming of Comets and Judgement Day, the Rosecrucians and Astrology. Our past also includes highly consequential movements such as Necromancy, Father Hell and Magnetism, Anthony Mesmer and Mesmerism, the Crusades, the Influence of Politics and Religion on the Hair and Beard, Sorcery and the Burning of Witches, the Traffic in Relics, the Popularity of Murder by Slow Poisoning and the Hero-Worship of Common Thieves. Today, as in the time of the South Sea Bubble, human nature is drawn like a moth to flame by the speculative fads of the marketplace. The excitement of new glamour issues in electronics or medical technology, the general euphoria over a rising market; these lure even many experienced investors. Their optimism overcomes their better judgment. They abandon critical analysis of the investment's fundamental value. Like gamblers in a casino they play against the odds, paying inflated prices and dreaming of quick profit. Time and again we can avoid disastrous pitfalls and learn to profit by seeing the ways that history repeats istself. Fascinating, mesmerizing, strikingly strange and amazingly shrewd, this book will never be forgotten and cannot be ignored.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Why do otherwise intelligent individuals form seething masses of idiocy when they engage in collective action? Why do financially sensible people jump lemming-like into hare-brained speculative frenzies--only to jump broker-like out of windows when their fantasies dissolve? We may think that the Great Crash of 1929, junk bonds of the '80s, and over-valued high-tech stocks of the '90s are peculiarly 20th century aberrations, but Mackay's classic--first published in 1841--shows that the madness and confusion of crowds knows no limits, and has no temporal bounds. These are extraordinarily illuminating,and, unfortunately, entertaining tales of chicanery, greed and naivete. Essential reading for any student of human nature or the transmission of ideas.

In fact, cases such as Tulipomania in 1624--when Tulip bulbs traded at a higher price than gold--suggest the existence of what I would dub "Mackay's Law of Mass Action:" when it comes to the effect of social behavior on the intelligence of individuals, 1+1 is often less than 2, and sometimes considerably less than 0. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

As with any true classic, once it is read it is hard to imagine not having known of it--and there is the compulsion to recommend it to others. --<A HREF=/exec/obidos/Author=Tobias%2C%20Andrew/${0}>Andrew Tobias --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 750 pages
• Publisher: Templeton Foundation Pr (October 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 093440500X
• ISBN-13: 978-0934405003
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,982,719 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

344 of 360 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Severely abridged edition, December 15, 2004

By 

nothingt5 - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (Hardcover)

Be aware that the edition published by Harriman House ONLY contains the chapters relating to economics, so you only get probably 1/7 of the original book...

154 of 159 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Truly a classic!, August 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds (Paperback)

If you're into investing, sooner or later an investment columnist will mention Extraordinary Delusions as required reading. It's that and more...

Charles Mackay first details France's Mississippi Scheme & England's South Sea Bubble (from the early 1700's). Then he covers the famous Dutch "tulipomania" of the 1600's. These are all enjoyable reports of financial manias and their aftermaths (though the South Sea Bubble chapter dragged on a bit). But the financial reader will be surprised when she realizes she's still only 100 pages into a 700 page book! Mackay proceeds to cover:

Alchemy - 150 pages of exhaustive (& exhausting) detail of hobbyists & serious investors who were convinced they could turn base metals into gold, if only they could find the right ancient recipe & stoke their workshop cauldrons just a little bit hotter.

The Crusades - 100 pages that prove that modern Islamic fundamentalists did not invent the idea of a "holy war". I had no idea the Crusades came out of official harassment of Y1K religious pilgrims! Remember this: If your country is being inundated with religious pilgrims, just try to think of them as a tourist opportunity. You don't want to get them angry!

The Witch Mania - 100pp. This section was unexpectedly chilling. As I read about European witch trials of the 1400s-1600s, I kept thinking of our recent satanic child abuse trials. It's all been done before: The wild unprovable accusations, including eating dead babies; trusting unreliable witnesses specifically BECAUSE of the severity of the charges; False Memory Syndrome. At least the rack & Trial by Ordeal are no longer recognized as valid forensic techniques.

The Slow Poisoners - Murder isn't really murder if you poison the victim slowly enough, is it?

Also covered: Animal Magnetism, Prophecies, Fortune-Telling, Hair & beard fashions in men, catch phrases & slang, Relics, Duels & Ordeals, Haunted Houses, & Popular Admiration of Great Thieves.

At times the book dragged, especially in the chapters I wasn't interested in. (But hey, that's what skimming is for.) So with that caveat, go ahead & get the book. It'll be a great investment of 12 bucks!

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An important, engaging, shrewd historical treatise., April 7, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (Paperback)

Charles Mackay's highly recommended Extraordinary Popular Delusions And The Madness Of Crowds was first published in 1841 and studies the psychology of crowds and mass mania throughout history. Mackay included accounts of classic scams, grand-scale madness, and deceptions. Some of these include the Mississippi scheme that swept France in 1720, the South Sea bubble that ruined thousands in England at the same time, and the tulip mania of Holland when fortunes were made and lost on single tulip bulbs. Other chapters deal with fads and delusions that often sprang from valid ideas and causes -- many of which still have their followers today: alchemy and the philosopher's stone, the prophecies of Nostradamus, the coming of comets and judgment day, the Rosicrucians, and astrology. Extraordinary Popular Delusions And The Madness Of Crowds is an important historical treatise that modern readers will find fascinating, engaging, and shrewd as they see how history repeats itself, but that disastrous pitfalls can be avoided by understanding the cycles and patterns of greed based ignorance plays in promoting and perpetuating group hysteria in the fields of business and finance, politics and superstitions.