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The Ordeal of Change (Library Binding)

by Eric Hoffer (Author) "It is my impression that no one really likes the new..." (more)
Key Phrases: individualist society, social usefulness, human uniqueness, Middle Ages, New York, Near East (more...)

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The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements (Perennial Classic.) by Eric Hoffer
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Editorial Reviews

Review
He seems like a being who had just emerged from unknown depths, startled, overjoyed at what he saw about him -- Eric Sevareid, broadcaster, journalist --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
Eric Hoffer--one of America's most important thinkers and the author of The True Believer--lived for years as a Depression Era migratory worker. Self-taught, his appetite for knowledge--history, science, mankind--formed the basis of his insight to human nature. Nowhere is this more evident than in Hoffer's seminal work, The Ordeal of Change, essays on the duality and essentiality of change in man throughout history. SPECIAL EDITION includes text handwritten message from Eric Hoffer. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

Library Binding
Publisher: Buccaneer Books (July 1990)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0899667481
ISBN-13: 978-0899667485
Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #883,206 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
It is my impression that no one really likes the new. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
individualist society, social usefulness, human uniqueness

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Middle Ages, New York, Near East, Late Neolithic, Catholic Church, Old World, Soviet Russia, Western Europe, Iron Curtain, United States

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Concordance | Text Stats

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Citations (learn more)

This book cites 11 books:

The True Believer by Eric Hoffer on page 70, and Back Matter
Literature of the Ancient Egyptians by Adolf Erman on page 85
The Ordeal of Change by Eric Hoffer in Back Matter
The Opium of the Intellectuals by Raymond Aron on page 80
The Temper of Our Time by Eric Hoffer in Back Matter

See all 11 books this book cites

53 books cite this book:

Escape from Planet Lame: Finding Wisdom and Happiness in the Age of Information by Clark Coogan on page 107, page 113, and page 174
The Making Of Iran's Islamic Revolution: From Monarchy To Islamic Republic, Second Edition by Mohsen M Milani on page 101, and Back Matter
The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements (Perennial Classic.) by Eric Hoffer in Front Matter, and Back Matter
Managing Change and Transition by Richard Luecke on page 71, and Back Matter
Eugene O'Neill in China: An International Centenary Celebration (Contributions in Drama and Theatre Studies) by Haiping Liu on page 180, and page 181

See all 53 books citing this book

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	58% buy the item featured on this page: The Ordeal of Change 4.9 out of 5 stars (8) $20.76
	19% buy The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements (Perennial Classic.) 4.7 out of 5 stars (108) $10.18
	11% buy Reflections on the Human Condition 5.0 out of 5 stars (3) $12.56
	8% buy The Passionate State of Mind: And Other Aphorisms 5.0 out of 5 stars (6) $12.56

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews

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4 star:		(1)
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4.9 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

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88 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Down-to-earth philosophy and insight into change, November 6, 2000

By	"leffing@hotmail.com" (Cayey, PR USA) - See all my reviews

Eric Hoffer is a remarkable individual, a self-educated philosopher and original thinker. He made an incredible impact years ago with his first book, The True Believer, which became a cult classic. A generation later, it has been (temporarily) forgotten, along with his second book, which never received the recognition it deserved. The Ordeal of Change relates how human beings deal with change in a series of essays that are both easy to relate to, meaningful to academics and lay people alike, and reflective of scholarship and common-sense. Why are we both attracted to and afraid of change? Hoffer's very readable book answers these questions in understandable and well-grounded terms. I have recommended this book to a dozen executives who have had to deal with resistance to change in their organizations, and somehow never came across this remarkable work by a San Francisco longshoreman who is a rival as a thinker to the best of more recognized intellectuals. Surprise someone whose mind you admire and wish to challenge with this as a gift, and do yourself a favor, proving that you can compete in the world of ideas. I didn't get my copy back from the last person I loaned it to, and can't remember who it was, so I have to buy a second copy of one of my all time favorites.

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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, not as great as his earlier works, June 14, 2005

By	liverleef (louisville, Ky United States) - See all my reviews

Eric Hoffers book, The True Believer is probolly the best book I have ever read. It gives insight into human nature that helped me understand the behavior of other people and even myself. It changed my view of the world I live in. Obviously it made a huge impact on me.

Because I was so impressed I quickly bought Hoffers other book The Ordeal of Change. I felt somewhat disapointd with this. I found it to lack the insight into human nature that his earlier work did. The Ordeal of Change seems to discuss how change occurs among a group of people rather than individuals. The True Believer discussed why individuals join groups, there was more emphasis on the individual than the group.

The book is still good. Perhaps I feel dispointed only because I cannot help but compare it to The True Believer which was a masterpiece. I still recomend this book but suggest that you read The True Believer as well.

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars He walked to the sound of his own drummer, January 22, 2006

By	Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This work contains a mixture of autobiography and philosophical and social reflection. Hoffer wrote ," My writing grows out of my life, just like a branch out of a tree" And his lifelong journey in learning was really integral to his own life. He began reading Montaigne and spent a lifetime reading more and learning all the time. He makes it clear here that he like most human beings fears change, but understands that to truly thrive from change one must learn, understood that those who rely on what they have learned long ago will have the world pass them. In other words he recommended that Societies like individuals be engaged in a continual process of learning and developing.
Hoffer was a one- of - a kind original. A truly decent person, who walked to the sound of his own drummer. Admirable in his anti- totalitarian stance and his refusal to be cowed by intellectual trend or fashion. He was a believer in American freedom , and an example of what a free - society can produce- at its best.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars expect more change from now on
This collection of things originally published in many places reminds me of reading The Saturday Evening Post at my grandparents' home when I was young to see what kind of beliefs... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Bruce P. Barten

5.0 out of 5 stars A PROPHETIC BOOK
Eric Hoffer has written a penetrating book that lasts through the ages. It will be interesting to see how it fits into the Obama Administration and our move toward total Socialism.

Published 6 months ago by Rudy Diesel

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant essays
Hoffer's essays are the best I have ever read on sociology. They are short, well organized and provide the deepest understanding of human nature. Read more

Published on February 19, 2007 by Dmitriy Golubkov

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
Every line in this book has the capacity to change your life. It doesn't even have to be an ordeal.

Published on November 28, 2004 by NextTwain

5.0 out of 5 stars Controversy (from the beginning) and relevance
I read this book (and most of his others) when originally published. No question but THIS IS HIS GREAT WORK. Read more

Published on April 3, 2003 by The Professor Dave

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