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The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements (Perennial Classics) Paperback – January 19, 2010

by Eric Hoffer (Author)

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“[Eric Hoffer] is a student of extraordinary perception and insight. The range of his reading and research is vast, amazing. [The True Believer is] one of the most provocative books of our immediate day.”—Christian Science Monitor

The famous bestseller with “concise insight into what drives the mind of the fanatic and the dynamics of a mass movement” (Wall St. Journal) by Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Eric Hoffer, The True Believer is a landmark in the field of social psychology, and even more relevant today than ever before in history. Called a “brilliant and original inquiry” and “a genuine contribution to our social thought” by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., The True Believer is mandatory reading for anyone interested in the machinations by which an individual becomes a fanatic.

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From the Back Cover

A stevedore on the San Francisco docks in the 1940s, Eric Hoffer wrote philosophical treatises in his spare time while living in the railroad yards. The True Believer -- the first and most famous of his books -- was made into a bestseller when President Eisenhower cited it during one of the earliest television press conferences.Completely relevant and essential for understanding the world today, The True Believer is a visionary, highly provocative look into the mind of the fanatic and a penetrating study of how an individual becomes one.

About the Author

Eric Hoffer (1902 -- 1983) was self-educated. He worked in restaurants, as a migrant fieldworker, and as a gold prospector. After Pearl Harbor, he worked as a longshoreman in San Francisco for twenty-five years. The author of more than ten books, including The Passionate State of Mind, The Ordeal of Change, and The Temper of Our Time, Eric Hoffer was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1983.

Series: Perennial Classics
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics (January 19, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060505915
ISBN-13: 978-0060505912
Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.4 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 452 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,756 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #15 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Compulsive Behavior
- #30 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Violence in Society
- #34 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Political

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Bill

This book, while somewhat dated (written while Stalin still ...

March 30, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book, while somewhat dated (written while Stalin still ruled), is still frighteningly accurate and applicable to events unfolding even now. I found it difficult to read only in the sense that I did not want to believe that words written a few years before I was born could still so accurately portray the world and events that I see today.

Comment 63 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

As Relevant Today as it Was in 1951

October 24, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is a 60+ year-old book that retains its fascination because the varieties of ‘true believers’ persist, along with the results of radical actions. Essentially, Hoffer looks at multiple, seemingly heterogeneous movements, from Christianity to National Socialism and observes their leadership and, more important, their followers. He identifies the traits of those leaders and followers and records them in a succession of discussions—125 numbered divisions in a book of approximately 170 pp.

While he has done his homework in examining the movements he does not discuss one or a handful in depth. This is not historiography. It is more a collection of observations that flow from his own readings in history. With the large number of separate discussions the result is something like reading Pascal or Wittgenstein. One is presented with many unified discussions but the most powerful aspect of the book is the manner in which it breaks into single, quotable sentences. These are the rocks polished by the river of thought which preceded them.

For example:

p. 14: “Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a substitute for the lost faith in ourselves.”

p. 24: “. . . the character and destiny of a group are often determined by its inferior elements.”

p. 29: “It is not actual suffering but the taste of better things which excites people to revolt.”

p. 33: “Those who clamor loudest for freedom . . . often . . . want to eliminate free competition and the ruthless testing to which the individual is continually subjected in a free society.”

p. 116: “There can be no mass movement without some deliberate misrepresentation of facts.”

p. 133: “However much the protesting man of words sees himself as the champion of the downtrodden and injured, the grievance which animates him is, with very few exceptions, private and personal.”

p. 144: “Whence come the fanatics? Mostly from the ranks of the noncreative men of words.”

Ultimately, this is a phenomenological study of human behavior in mass movements. Its key, overarching theme is the notion that the true believer suffers from some personal form of alienation or failure which pushes him to seek an alternative society in which he can comfortably fit. This is powerful stuff, endlessly suggestive and continuing in its relevance for our present condition. Highly recommended.

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Linda A. Marlia

Still relavant and worth your time.

June 15, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

My first day in college, in the fall of 1964, the President of the college recommended a few books to help us become "critical thinkers." This was the first one on the list. Eric Hoffer was well-known at the time as the "Longshoreman philosopher." In this book he discusses the psychology and sociology of mass movements in a detailed, but understandable way. It is as relevant in today's world as it was over 50 years ago and I was glad to find it on Kindle so I could easily read it again. I recommend it highly.

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Kiwiwriter

An illuminating look at mass movements, their leaders, their members, how they work, and what they do

March 25, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is one of the most fascinating books I have ever read, even though it was written in 1951.

Longshoreman-turned-philosopher Eric Hoffer scrutinized and analyzed mass movements and their various members, ranging from ideologues to greedheads, dissecting them in detail, separating out the wheat of activity and behavior from the chaff of rhetoric and ideology, to see how they and their members work, and their impact.

At the time, Nazism was freshly buried, Stalinist Communism was powerful, and many of the ideologies of the 1960s did not exist. However, Mr. Hoffer's analysis of the movements of the time easily apply to other movements, going on into the present day.

The book is short, written in a crisp style, and is easily accessible to many education levels. President Dwight D. Eisenhower highly recommended it to everyone he worked with, and cited it in an early press conference.

Once you read this, you can take with a bit more perspective (and a lot more salt) the angry denunciations of today's conspiracy theorists and other blowhards, and figure out why they keep on going.

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S. Vargas

As relevant today as ever

January 16, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This was an excellent book that really laid out the foundations of what it takes to create and sustain a mass movement. As of January of 2018, this book seems to be more relevant than ever, as the last decade has seen a dramatic rise in fanaticism in all corners of the world and across the political, religious, and ideological spectrum. With this book, you will develop a better understanding of how these movements grow, the psychology required of its members (usually weak, frustrated, and disillusioned), and perhaps most importantly the manipulation of the past, present, and future in order to create, maintain, or sometimes bring an end to mass movements.

I was also surprised by how short the book is. It's very digestible, compared to other major analyses of sociology or political theory.

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John Stults

interesting, thought provoking, great read

April 24, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

very good take on mass movements, points out the similarity of churches, islam, political parties, nazis, communists, Perhaps some uncomfortable ideas but well worth the tie to read and reflect on what the author says. The book is relatively short and the author has a writing style that is easy to read and follow. Very interesting take on why some movements fail (think Chang) and why some work (think Mao). I like his take that some dont want freedom (you then are responsible for what happens) but you want to be free from freedom let the gov or the church or the party tell you what to do thinking is so hard.

I read the kindle version and the one negative comment I had was that the footnotes were kind of clunky, one per page tended to make it hard to follow the rabbit trail of footnotes

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Most recent customer reviews

Anthony Tuc-9 Tucker

True Believing is Powerful Living!!

Even as Eric Hoffer makes plain the impetus of any major movements in world history from Biblical times to post-war Russia,China and Germany,he he says the Scriptures should be SO...Read more

Published 8 days ago

John Stitz

Very Insightful, but buy a thesaurus.

The subject matter is incredibly relevant to this very day, and can provide a first-person view into why mass movements occur (a current example could be Trump's rise) and how to...Read more

Published 16 days ago

Tom

Philosophy for people who never studied it and never wanted to

This book will help some people understand why all great movements fail, get betrayed, or become something else. A great and quick guide to our human behaviors.

Published 21 days ago

David A Fairbanks

Five Stars

An unsung genius! Truly insightful.

Published 2 months ago

Richard Robins

Primer on Trump Supporters

Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983) gives a reasonably easy read on "mass movements." Once you read this book, you will know the Trumpism era is missing some important...Read more

Published 3 months ago

Earthlooker

Five Stars

Where's Hoffer now, when we need him?

Published 3 months ago

Ronald R. Kennedy

I think it is a good guide for today's progressives to consider another viewpoint

As Mr. Hoffer said in the book, this is not a textbook. I think it is a good guide for today's progressives to consider another viewpoint.

Published 3 months ago

kirtida gautam

The information printed in the book about Indian society is not factual. That made me question the book at places.

The book has some factual errors.
E.g. The revolutionary effect of the educational work done by Western colonizing powers in India is noticeable.Read more

Published 4 months ago

Rene Cruz Velez

Need to read

A need to read...specially since it was written more than 60 years ago and still actual

Published 4 months ago

Christopher R.

Should be at least twice.

Excellent book, first rate thinking on the matter of mass movements and a deep understanding of their functioning.

Published 5 months ago

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