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First Sentence
It is a truism that many who join a rising revolutionary movement are attracted by the prospect of sudden and spectacular change in their conditions of life. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
It is a truism that many who join a rising revolutionary movement are attracted by the prospect of sudden and spectacular change in their conditions of life. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Eric Hoffer (1902-83) was born in New York City. At the age of seven he went blind, and after he mysteriously regained his sight at the age of 15 he began to read voraciously. In 1951, the same year that the Rosenbergs were convicted, that the Korean War was at its height, and that Joseph McCarthy was at his height, Mr. Hoffer produced this book.
In this book, Mr. Hoffer examines mass movements, and the true believers that fill them. While the movements change from generation to generation, the believers stay the same - people who suffer from self-hatred and self-doubt, and who join a mass movement (any mass movement) that promises to build a better future. The true believers are obsessed with the outer world, and with the private lives of others, seeking to create some sort of meaning for their own lives.
Overall, I found this to be one of the most fascinating books that I have ever read. The author's thoughts often seem to come in a stream of consciousness, but they explain so much about believers and the movements that they get behind. This is a riveting read, full of a great deal of food for thought. If you really want to understand the world around you, and the fanatics that fill so many different movements, then this is the book for you.
This is a book that every thinking person should read and ponder. I highly recommend it to you!
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Whether you read a few sentences a day or in one setting,
you will be challenged to think about humans, history and
the future. This is a must read for anyone who cares about
humanity and understanding mass movements, from the formation
of Christianity to Naziism to Bosnia. Every thinking
Christian must read this book!
you will be challenged to think about humans, history and
the future. This is a must read for anyone who cares about
humanity and understanding mass movements, from the formation
of Christianity to Naziism to Bosnia. Every thinking
Christian must read this book!
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book has had a strong influence on me. Many of Hoffer's observations ring true when applied to real examples. His startling assertion that true believers are of the same basic psychological type, regardless of doctrine, has an uncanny explanatory power. Many later sociopolitical works echo his thoughts without acknowledging this man and his contributions.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A penetrating insight into the psychology of mass movements
Eric Hoffer offers a penetrating and deeply troubling insight into the psychology of those who allow themselves to fall under the spell of fanatical mass movements --- something to... Read more
Published on 26 Jan 2010 by Patrick Stenberg
Most enlightening
The work tries to understand and explain, not pass judgment, on mass movements and their followers. Hoffer concentrates on the active phase of mass movements where the true... Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2009 by Pieter
Seminal work
In this remarkable work, Hoffer concentrates on the active phase of mass movements where the true believer has real influence. Read more
Published on 24 Dec 2008 by Pieter
Remarkable psychological insight
This remarkable work examines the elements shared by all mass movements. Hoffer cautions that although mass movements share many traits this does not imply that they're equally... Read more
Published on 26 Sep 2008 by Pieter
Absorbing, stimulating, thought-provoking
This thought-provoking book investigates the elements common to all mass movements, religious, nationalist or social. Read more
Published on 24 Aug 2008 by Pieter
Astonishing psychological insight
Hoffer focuses on the active phase of mass movements, the one dominated by the true believer. Frustration seems to be inherent in this personality type. Read more
Published on 24 Aug 2008 by Pieter
Essential reading for all
There is more meat in every 2 pages of this book than you can find in any business or political block-buster. Read more
Published on 11 Dec 2007 by Rupert Witherow
A brilliant book of this Century - should be a classic!
A truly great book, easy to read and provides a provocative analysis of fanaticism - promoters and joiners of political and religious movements. Read more
Published on 1 July 1999
The most memorable book on fanatacism I have ever read.
I first read this book while writing my doctoral dissertation, "The Fundamental Protestant Radical Right: their views and influences on public education. Read more
Published on 2 Nov 1998
This is a classic deserving far more attention and respect
Eric Hoffer was not a member of the university snob community---and the latter will never forgive him for writing a book far beyond their pathetic talents. Read more
Published on 9 Jun 1998
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