Charles Mackay
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 58
Average rating: 4.0 of 5
Informative and entertaining - it earns its status as a classic 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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.
Editorial Review:
Classic swindles, wild schemes, and incredible scams on a grand scale: this 19th century landmark study of crowd psychology and mass mania provides an entertaining account of human folly through the ages. It happens in every period and every nation, from the Tulipomania that practically consumed the Dutch imagination in the 17th century to the Mississippi Scheme that swept France in 1720 and the South Sea Bubble that ruined thousands in England during the same decade. There's also a look at fads and delusions that sprung from beliefs and causes that still have supporters today: the prophecies of Nostradamus, the coming of comets and Judgment Day, the Rosicrucians, and astrology. Some of the people and movements surveyed here remain highly controversial, from the Crusades to sorcery and witchcraft. Compelling and thought-provoking.
