There's no part of this I didn't like. Reading this book written over 150 years ago majes you realize how little people have changed over the course of history, right up to today. Users of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and The Madness of Crowds, Becuase of Benard Baruch and Jesse Livermore, Lessons from the Greatest Stock Traders of All Time. He reminds us that, no matter how batshit crazy a particular fad might seem, it's already been done by our ancestors. And not only is such a study instructive: he who reads for amusement only will find no chapter in the annals of the human mind more amusing than this. Oh wait...I think they're mine. Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds Item Preview remove-circle ... Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay. Mackay is sometimes a little silly (he spends hundreds of pages showing how the brightest men of science and learning fell for alchemy, then looks to science and knowledge to save us from superstitions like witchcraft) but always entertaining and often fairly profound. i. Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is an early study of crowd psychology by Scottish journalist Charles Mackay, first published in 1841 under the title Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions. The book is divided into long and short sections, depending on how exhaustively the author wanted to explore a given topic. The book was published in three volumes: "National Delusions", "Peculiar Follies", and "Philosophical Delusions". The book chronicles and vilifies its targets in three parts: "National Delusions", "Peculiar Follies", and "Philosophical Delusions". This book is an excellent place to start if you want to understand how this could come about. Some of the long sections include financial bubbles, alchemy, the Crusades, and witch hunting frenzies. It would be a very different thing had the author been a twenty-first century social scientist. Mackay wasn't trying to write about mass psychology or economics, after all. It's like history has conspired to bear out MacKay's thesis to perfection: you could hardly hope for better validation outisde of a laboratory! Title: Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds Author: Charles Mackay Created Date: 6/9/2015 3:01:33 PM It would be a very different thing had the author been a twenty-first century social scientist. The chapter dealing with trendy phrases was particularily illustrative of this. Charles Mackay was a Scottish poet, journalist, author, anthologist, novelist, and songwriter, remembered mainly for his book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. Why read a book originally published in 1841 about the delusions and madness of times long gone? ... Apart from Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, he is best remembered for his songs and his Dictionary of Lowland Scotch. The Challenge with Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds: Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is an excellent book and despite being written in 1841 it is actually quite entertaining. What a delightful read! C harles Mackay wrote not of pandemics but “moral epidemics” 179 years ago in Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. We tend to think of sarcasm as a modern affliction, but Charles Mackay's writing is as sarcastic as anything I have ever read. Madness of the Crowds is an amazing read. We get wound up over such ridiculous things, and perform such ridiculous acts for such ridiculous reasons that you have to wonder why, if there is a God, the world contains so many sharp objects and so few padded surfaces... We tend to think of sarcasm as a modern affliction, but Charles Mackay's writing is as sarcastic as anything I have ever read. Well, yes, we are! Be the first to ask a question about Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. $SEEK is possible to turn $500 into $5,000 because it can run 1000%. How could such fool. by Harriman House, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. Be the first one to write a review. He was trying entertain his audience and to demonstrate, as effectively as po. A historically important compendium of urban myths gilded with a thin layer of facts and moralizing musings. This informative, funny collection of popular delusions, from Alchemy to Mesmerism, has become a classic--a study of mass manias, crowd behavior, and human folly. I think the author makes a strong case early in the work: The book was first published in 1841, but all the recent bubbles (Japanese real estate, dot-com, us housing bubbles) shares similarity with the older events . But the fact remains… The book was written over 150 years ago and the language is a little bit difficult to read. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published [illustration: the bubblers' arms--prosperity.] Free delivery on qualified orders. Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, Volume 1. volume i. When physicist Isaac Newton lost some fortune in his investment in the South Sea Company, he said "I can calculate the motions of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people" and warned others not mention the name "South Sea" ever again in his presence. Charles Mackay. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. It's been too long since I've read this, but there's a, Mark Twain once famously characterized a "classic" as "a book that everyone praises and nobody reads," and while there are plenty of classics that absolutely hold up (. By Charles Mackay 1814-1889) Charles Mackay was a Scottish poet, journalist, author, anthologist, novelist, and songwriter remembered mainly for his book 'Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds'. financial bubbles, witch hunts, alchemy), the remarkable story of John Law and the Mississippi Scheme is told in the language and cadence of a cautionary tale like "the Emperor's New Clothes", The great strength - and weakness- of this book is that it was written by a nineteenth century journalist. Introduction. Mackay was an accomplished teller of stories, though he wrote in a journalistic and somewhat sensational style. It was a favorite book of Bernard Baruch, who wrote the foreword to the 1932 edition, a much longer work than what we see here. Mackay became a journalist in London: in 1834 he was an occasional contributor to The Sun . Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds at Amazon.com. September 1st 2003 Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds Paperback – July 25, 1995 by Charles Mackay (Author), Andrew Tobias (Foreword) 3.8 out of 5 stars 268 ratings Sam Harris wrote an intro to that and published it as its own little book. But at bottom this is not a financial phenomenon, but one of mob psychology. Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is a history of popular folly by Charles Mackay. I guess the low rating is my fault, this book is written in a very victorian styles and it feels more like a reference book than one that you actually opens to read it from beginning to end. Extraordinary Popular Delusions and The Madness of Crowds has had an important influence on economists in understanding of crowd psychology and feedback loops. Librivox recording of Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, Volume I by Charles Mackay. Office of the National Illustrated Library, ... if one is clever enough to find their way to this review, and the novel itself, they have come far in their journey! Shorter sections cover various types of medical quackery, doomsday prophets, poisoners, and dueling. 1852. memoirs of extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds. ... Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, Volume 1 Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Extraordinary Popular Delusions and The Madness of Crowds at Amazon.com. Learn why intelligent people do amazingly stupid things when caught up in speculative edevorse. This review is the subjective opinion of an Investimonials member and not of Investimonials LLC. “Let us not, in the pride of our superior knowledge, turn with contempt from the follies of our predecessors. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. And how about those many thousands of suspected witches who met brutal deaths? Refresh and try again. The book chronicles its targets in three parts: National Delusions, Peculiar Follies, and Philosophical Delusions. Start by marking “Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds” as Want to Read: Error rating book. Extraordinary Popular Delusions and Madness of the Crowds, 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. It is a fascinating book, in that it was written in 1841, (by Charles Mckay) and yet the writing style seems startlingly modern in tone and style. Charles Mackay's extraordinary survey of the various manifestations of mass hysteria throughout history cannot help but offer perspective. Because we have to learn from other's mistakes so we aren't caught in the madness and can not only save our portfolio but hopefully profit from it. He reminds us that, no matter how batshit crazy a particular fad might seem, it's already been done by our ancestors. He was trying entertain his audience and to demonstrate, as effectively as possible, one simple thing: that humans, as a species are quite incurably insane. Yes, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. And on and on. As the man looks back to the days of his childhood and his youth, and recalls to his mind the strange notions that swayed his actions at that time, that he may wonder at them; so should society, for its education, look back to the opinions which governed the ages fled. To see what your friends thought of this book. It can serve as a springboard to the study of actual history, economics, and psychology, or it can be an entertaining way to pass some time -- but don't believe everything you read here. The book encompasses a broad range of scams, manias, and deceptions including witch burning and the Great Crusades. Charles Mackay (1814–89) was a 19th century Scottish poet, journalist, chronicler and song writer. There are no reviews yet. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Extraordinary Popular Delusions and The Madness of Crowds at Amazon.com. Read Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (Wordsworth Reference) book reviews & author details and more at Amazon.in. Related Searches. vol. First published in 1841 and expanded in … Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds 658. by Charles Mackay. The illumination cast by his thesis itself is probably worthy of a five-star rating, bu. That is, people have one hundred forty seven billion dollars invested in Amazon and at the present rate will earn back their money in 569 years. This book is quite a riveting book. Madness! The study of the errors into which great minds have fallen in the pursuit of truth can never be uninstructive. I wonder where you got the words for your review? Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. The book chronicles its targets in three parts: "National Delusions," "Peculiar Follies," and "Philosophical Delusions." Note - This review is on the non-abridged version Madness of the crowds that can be seen here Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds which is the version that I would recommend. london: office of the national illustrated library, 227 strand. Ever since it was written, Investors have used it as a guide to help identify boom and bust cycles. FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00 . The extraordinary avidity of the people kept up the delusion; and the higher the price of Indian and Mississippi stock, the more billets de banque were issued to keep pace with it. There are excellent books on the financial aspecst or history of such phenomena, Galbraith or John Cassidy for example. This item: Extraordinary Popular Delusions and The Madness of Crowds by Charles MacKay Paperback $16.99 Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. It opens out the whole realm of fiction – the wild, the fantastic, and the wonderful, and all the immense variety of things “that are not, and cannot be be; but have been imagined and believed.”. Welcome back. Just got there, I got some golden nuggets from this but the peak of it wasn't the once I expected it to be, but great read nevertheless. It is best, then, to think of The Madness of Crowds as a catalogue of bizarre human behaviour, rather then a piece of popular science writing. The core ideas is great, but the presentation is very tedious. As the man looks back to the days of his childhood and his youth, and recalls to his mind the strange notions that swayed his actions at that time, that he may wonder at them; so should society, for its education, look back to the opinions which governed the ages fled. Extraordinary Popular Delusions is a 700 page study of what Mackay calls the Madness of Europe, up until 1841. I suppose this is still remembered mostly for the opening chapters on famous market bubbles - and I wouldn't be surprised if most people skip or give up in the chapter on alchemy - but it's worth reading cover to cover. I was surprised and somewhat pleased to see that some business book publishers help keep this amusing work in print. Oh, to be reminded of humanity's follies and foolishness. "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" was authored by Scotsman Charles MacKay in 1841. Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is a study of crowd psychology by Scottish journalist Charles Mackay. EXTRAORDINARY POPULAR DELUSIONS AND THE MADNESS OF CROWDS is a popular history of popular folly in human society by Scottish journalist Charles Mackay, first published in 1841 but most of which remains incredibly relevent to this day. illustrated with numerous engravings. Property, tech stocks, commodities...and penny stocks! Anyway, lost interest after the 78th description of some renaissance alchemist, Today, July 29, 2014, Amazon has a market capitalization of $147,380,000,000 and a price/earnings ratio of 569. This Harriman House edition includes Charles Mackay's account of the three infamous financial manias - John Law's Mississipi Scheme, the South Sea Bubble, and Tulipomania. He is but a superficial thinker who would despise and refuse to hear of them merely because they are absurd. There are excellent books on the financial aspecst or history of such phenomena, Galbraith or John Cassidy for example. Marvellous walk through all the madnesses of mankind known so far! “Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds” provides a list of history’s ridiculous schemes, fantasies, prophesies witchcraft, faith healers and more. But was it funny when for several centuries the church-driven popular delusion of witchcraft led to the actual burning alive of perhaps 100,000 women (and some men) in scenes at least as ridiculous as that? Overview Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is a history of popular folly by Charles Mackay. Are you spending this season bundling up against the chill or enjoying summery southern hemisphere vibes (in which case we are... First published in 1841, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is often cited as the best book ever written about market psychology. 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