The Delusions Of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups
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- Author：William J. Bernstein
- ISBN：B08BSQYQF7
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Summary
From the award-winning author of A Splendid Exchange， a fascinating new history of financial and religious mass manias over the past five centuries
"We are the apes who tell stories，" writes William Bernstein。 "And no matter how misleading the narrative， if it is compelling enough it will nearly always trump the facts。" As Bernstein shows in his eloquent and persuasive new book， The Delusions of Crowds， throughout human history compelling stories have catalyzed the spread of contagious narratives through susceptible groups--with enormous， often disastrous， consequences。
Inspired by Charles Mackay's 19th-century classic Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds， Bernstein engages with mass delusion with the same curiosity and passion， but armed with the latest scientific research that explains the biological， evolutionary， and psychosocial roots of human irrationality。 Bernstein tells the stories of dramatic religious and financial mania in western society over the last 500 years--from the Anabaptist Madness that afflicted the Low Countries in the 1530s to the dangerous End-Times beliefs that animate ISIS and pervade today's polarized America; and from the South Sea Bubble to the Enron scandal and dot com bubbles of recent years。 Through Bernstein's supple prose， the participants are as colorful as their motivation， invariably "the desire to improve one's well-being in this life or the next。"
As revealing about human nature as they are historically significant， Bernstein's chronicles reveal the huge cost and alarming implications of mass mania: for example， belief in dispensationalist End-Times has over decades profoundly affected U。S。 Middle East policy。 Bernstein observes that if we can absorb the history and biology of mass delusion， we can recognize it more readily in our own time， and avoid its frequently dire impact。
"We are the apes who tell stories，" writes William Bernstein。 "And no matter how misleading the narrative， if it is compelling enough it will nearly always trump the facts。" As Bernstein shows in his eloquent and persuasive new book， The Delusions of Crowds， throughout human history compelling stories have catalyzed the spread of contagious narratives through susceptible groups--with enormous， often disastrous， consequences。
Inspired by Charles Mackay's 19th-century classic Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds， Bernstein engages with mass delusion with the same curiosity and passion， but armed with the latest scientific research that explains the biological， evolutionary， and psychosocial roots of human irrationality。 Bernstein tells the stories of dramatic religious and financial mania in western society over the last 500 years--from the Anabaptist Madness that afflicted the Low Countries in the 1530s to the dangerous End-Times beliefs that animate ISIS and pervade today's polarized America; and from the South Sea Bubble to the Enron scandal and dot com bubbles of recent years。 Through Bernstein's supple prose， the participants are as colorful as their motivation， invariably "the desire to improve one's well-being in this life or the next。"
As revealing about human nature as they are historically significant， Bernstein's chronicles reveal the huge cost and alarming implications of mass mania: for example， belief in dispensationalist End-Times has over decades profoundly affected U。S。 Middle East policy。 Bernstein observes that if we can absorb the history and biology of mass delusion， we can recognize it more readily in our own time， and avoid its frequently dire impact。
Reviews
Val Ras
，
Very interesting and convincing read， kind of an updater to famous Charles Mackay book。 I gave five stars but I have two gripes。 First， it should really be two separate books。 Author makes a great effort to tie the stories of financial manias and religious 'end of days' cults， and， indeed， there are common themes - just not enough， and joining them together seems somewhat artificial。 Second， it's all about 'end of days' sects in Christianity， Judaism and Islam。 But isn't it true that any religio Very interesting and convincing read， kind of an updater to famous Charles Mackay book。 I gave five stars but I have two gripes。 First， it should really be two separate books。 Author makes a great effort to tie the stories of financial manias and religious 'end of days' cults， and， indeed， there are common themes - just not enough， and joining them together seems somewhat artificial。 Second， it's all about 'end of days' sects in Christianity， Judaism and Islam。 But isn't it true that any religion is a mass delusion， and author glosses over that。 。。。more
Suzanne Duncan velarde
，
"We're likely doomed to limp along with our Stone-Age minds in a spage-age planet。""We share many genes that are hundreds of millions of years old， such as those that regulate appetite， with earthworms。""One should never underestimate the human tendency toward mimicry， and especially of how the everyday beneficial mass delusions that help businesses and whole societies function smoothly can rapidly mutate into fraudulent or genocidal mass delusions。 "So at the start of this book I would have giv "We're likely doomed to limp along with our Stone-Age minds in a spage-age planet。""We share many genes that are hundreds of millions of years old， such as those that regulate appetite， with earthworms。""One should never underestimate the human tendency toward mimicry， and especially of how the everyday beneficial mass delusions that help businesses and whole societies function smoothly can rapidly mutate into fraudulent or genocidal mass delusions。 "So at the start of this book I would have given it an enthusiastic 5 stars。 I was absorbed by his scientific explanations of why we as humans can be so smart and still do such stupid and often horrible things。 He teaches in layman terms how our brains assimilate information and how we use our system 1（our instincts so to speak） to make decisions that require system 2 （our rational thinking）。 I was hooked 。。。 for most of the book。 For me it fell apart in his diatribe against Christian evangelicals。 His high-handed moral tone about their danger foolheaded beliefs wore on me and dispelled an illusion I had of his objectivity。 More relating the stories， less judging the intelligence of the actors。 The reader doesn't need to be told how to feel。He has a good vocabulary but sometimes needed someone to help him with his word choice。 Rather than an "opening benediction" the word is "invocation" （pg 253）， and you can't "sojourn to" a place （pg 354）。 You sojourn in place。 You journey to a place。 His epilogue especially puzzled me when he says "We're Charles Mackay able to journey through time 。。。 the stories of the 1844 Great Disappointment 。。。would not surprise him the least。 He would， at the same time， be riveted by Darwin's exposition of human evolution" since On the Origin of the Species was published in 1859 and Mackay died in 1889。 I am not a historian so perhaps I am misunderstanding Berstein， but the construction seems to suggest Mackay died before these events。 I don't get it。 In summary， I liked it best when he stuck to the science of why we make such bad decisions when we get in groups and when he shares examples without snippy sarcasm or superior snarkiness。 There is enough of that in public discourse without resorting to it in works intended to enlighten and instruct。 Well worth a read but just know you might get annoyed。 。。。more
Justin Smith
，
Note to reader， my review is based on the audiobook， I reread sections of interest in more detail than wrote this review。 I listened to Delusions of Crowds in hopes to understand my predisposition to delusions， understand how hype is created， and garnish the tools to combat this human shortcoming。 The book started by describing one of the oldest historic narratives for delusion; the Abrahamic "End of Times" narrative。 Abrahamic religious subjects are carried throughout the book and I found it he Note to reader， my review is based on the audiobook， I reread sections of interest in more detail than wrote this review。 I listened to Delusions of Crowds in hopes to understand my predisposition to delusions， understand how hype is created， and garnish the tools to combat this human shortcoming。 The book started by describing one of the oldest historic narratives for delusion; the Abrahamic "End of Times" narrative。 Abrahamic religious subjects are carried throughout the book and I found it helpful to see the parallels with other subjects but some may be sensitive to this。 This book may be difficult to read for those who are fundamentalists in their faith。 Religious examples of delusions I found to be interesting and necessary but not memorable for me。 I enjoyed the chapters on financial bubbles such as the Mississippi Company， Railroad， Enron， and the Tech Bubble。 I am more susceptible to delusions of greed and as a result more interested in financial bubbles。 Having read previous books by the author， a reader may want to have some business background and I may need some religious history。 Some topics involved a search on Investopedia to understand some financial concepts。 The author did unharmoniously jump between financial bubbles and religion， as the story of the "red heifer" was difficult for me to grasp the relevance。 However， this topic led to the next topic; the formation of the Israel-Palestine conflict。 I appreciated the bravery of the author。 I did have difficulty comprehending where the delusion intended to be; as it felt omnipresent。 This difficulty was inevitable with the conflict covered only in a couple of chapters。 The Christian delusions were interesting as they touched on education and Americans' thirst for entertainment。 Cults， however， were explored vaguely in the context of Abrahamic religions。 More recognizable cults I felt would have been stronger examples。 Also， some descriptions of the delusions that were helpful would have been interesting but maybe too contentious。 The author brought me through time successfully ending at the Enron Scandal， Tech Bubble and Islamic Extremists。 I appreciated the author taking on such a difficult task， which even to this day with crypto-mania we struggle with。 The author was successful in not making others out to be fooled and instead highlighted our human faults for hype through different scientific studies。 He provided tools and personal red flags to watch out for in hopes to avoid that next snap of a bubble or mass delusion。 。。。more
Emma Ratshin
，
well it’s certainly a history book。 i really thought there’d be more analysis， the “why” advertised in the subtitle。 but it was really just a back and forth narrative between premillennial dispensationalism and financial manias spanning the last few centuries。 luckily i’m pretty into one of those things so i wasn’t bored to tears， and the prose was pretty good （if a bit dry）。 the structure just didn’t make much sense to me as a BOOK。 it felt more like a really good undergraduate thesis。 also one well it’s certainly a history book。 i really thought there’d be more analysis， the “why” advertised in the subtitle。 but it was really just a back and forth narrative between premillennial dispensationalism and financial manias spanning the last few centuries。 luckily i’m pretty into one of those things so i wasn’t bored to tears， and the prose was pretty good （if a bit dry）。 the structure just didn’t make much sense to me as a BOOK。 it felt more like a really good undergraduate thesis。 also one bone to pick: when he said falwell got into politics after roe v wade i actually screamed aloud because this is sooooo so deeply not true and felt like incredibly lazy scholarship to just take falwell’s word for it？ you don’t have to do a lot of digging to find out that it was actually racial integration that spurred him into political action。 there’s a whole npr series on it！ okay done。 happy 100th book to me！ 。。。more
Alejandro González
，
Debería llamarse el engaño de las multitudes religiosas; fuera de hablar de eso no hablo de mucho más el autor。 Se centro demasiado en eventos históricos y sus maneras en lugar de analizar y dar el porqué la gente se vuelve loca en grupos。 Muy entretenido pero muy unilateral。
Joe
，
Informative and well written， though I knew most of the stories that were covered already。 I have to add my observation to many other reviewers that the Author's ill disguise contempt for believers in general and Christians in particular and Evangelicals Christians very particularly was off putting。 I believe that Berstein is ignorant of Christianity。 He gives as an example of Christian gullibility the fact that 61% of them believe in Satan。 I would say that 100% of real Christians believe in Sa Informative and well written， though I knew most of the stories that were covered already。 I have to add my observation to many other reviewers that the Author's ill disguise contempt for believers in general and Christians in particular and Evangelicals Christians very particularly was off putting。 I believe that Berstein is ignorant of Christianity。 He gives as an example of Christian gullibility the fact that 61% of them believe in Satan。 I would say that 100% of real Christians believe in Satan; it's a core belief of our religion。 He thinks that America's support of Israel may have its origin in the belief by some Evangelicals that the Jewish state existence is prerequisite for return of Jesus。 That may be a factor but it is also possible that America supports Israel because it is the only Western style democracy in the Middle East。 Finally， Christians throughout history have believe they are living in the End Times as both a hope and a fear。 It's just the way we are。The casual bigotry of today will in time become the open persecution of tomorrow; I'm glad I won't live to see it。 。。。more
Ginger Ellison
，
Didn’t finish
Meirav Rath
，
Ditched this book 60% through for the following reasons:1。 Only religion manias and financial bubbles count in Bernstein's definition of "manias"。 Even though the first is something a group experiences and the latter is （sometimes） something a whole nation experiences。 And yet other periods of insane and deadly delusions are not even considered as manias， such as whatever convinced the contestants in WW1's western fighting to escalate the conflict into a 4-year meat grinder， or Japan's WW2 milit Ditched this book 60% through for the following reasons:1。 Only religion manias and financial bubbles count in Bernstein's definition of "manias"。 Even though the first is something a group experiences and the latter is （sometimes） something a whole nation experiences。 And yet other periods of insane and deadly delusions are not even considered as manias， such as whatever convinced the contestants in WW1's western fighting to escalate the conflict into a 4-year meat grinder， or Japan's WW2 military fanaticism。 I mostly read about 20th century history so these two pop to mind， but I'm sure there are more such examples throughout history。2。 Bernstein keeps saying all financial bubbles are the same， but he insists on exhausingly cover every tiny detail of every bubble he can think of。 We get it， greed makes people stupid。3。 The man is obsessed with Israel， like， pathologically。 Evangelists keep fucking around with our history and politics but， to judge by the scant coverage of this fuckery versus the maticulous （historically inaccurate and cherry-picky to a fault） coverage of every minute of jewish history， it's heavily implied that we're to blame for it。 What the fuck ever， man。 。。。more
Mike Cross
，
An excellent look at historical religious and financial crowds gone （in the author's opinion） crazy。 More of a history book than psychology， but the two are loosely woven together to a create a comprehensive story。 Well worth reading。 An excellent look at historical religious and financial crowds gone （in the author's opinion） crazy。 More of a history book than psychology， but the two are loosely woven together to a create a comprehensive story。 Well worth reading。 。。。more
Louise Gray
，
Really interesting and alarmingly relevant。 I thought this was a useful mix of history， psychology and sociology’s d got a lot out of it。 At times， the author seemed less than objective which can happen but is not my preferred approach when reading books classified as history books。
Dennis R
，
I spent many years in the investment industry and I would often be asked what were the most important books one could read about investments and I would say Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds， Gustav Le Bon's The Crowd and Charles Kindelberger's work on financial panics。 I would now add Berstein's book。 He touches on the financial panics we all know about like the South Sea Bubble， but he spends a good deal of time on end times delusions in both the Christian and Islamic w I spent many years in the investment industry and I would often be asked what were the most important books one could read about investments and I would say Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds， Gustav Le Bon's The Crowd and Charles Kindelberger's work on financial panics。 I would now add Berstein's book。 He touches on the financial panics we all know about like the South Sea Bubble， but he spends a good deal of time on end times delusions in both the Christian and Islamic worlds。Bernstein lays open for us the failures of human reasoning and the delusions we create and respond to。 He makes the valuable point that a strong narrative is more powerful than facts and that those narratives actually decrease our ability to be rational。One of the most interesting points in all these books is how quickly humans forget the last panic， bubble or delusion and so set themselves up for the next panic。 We are living in a world where narrative is the driving force in many people's lives and when those narratives are challenged the result is not better understanding or reevaluation of the narrative but anger， dismissal， division of us versus them and violence。Bernstein's discussions of Islamic end times beliefs is very interesting and thought provoking as they hold the keys to peace in the Middle East。 It also demonstrates how very difficult it will be to reach any peaceful accord with Islam since these end times narratives are so powerfully held。Bernstein is a talented writer who is easy to read and this book is excellent。 In Hamlet there is the line， this above all to thy ownself be true。。。" and this book will help the reader understand what are the motivations of their lives and how they are affected by them。 。。。more
db
，
Many people like this book and recommend。
Luke
，
Interesting look at religion and money and the delusions that have been associated with them throughout history。 The intertwining of religion and politics in the present day and the recent past should be concerning for anyone who cares about posterity。
Duncan McKinnon
，
Represents more of a historical than psychology perspective。 The bulk of the book is recounting situations where crowds were enticed to act against their interests， with only brief tangents into economic and psychological research。
Kieran Nurmi
，
It loses me during the religious sections and needs to emphasise more the lessons of its examples which tend to get lost in the extended breakdown。
Kitty Pollock
，
A fascinating history of mass hysteria and mass delusions。 Taking examples from religion and historical events I enjoyed reading about this as the psychology of humans is always fascinating。 The only fault i can make about this book is the authors' opinions shine through at moments that are somewhat uncomfortable。Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an eACR of this book in exchange for an honest review。 All opinions are my own。 A fascinating history of mass hysteria and mass delusions。 Taking examples from religion and historical events I enjoyed reading about this as the psychology of humans is always fascinating。 The only fault i can make about this book is the authors' opinions shine through at moments that are somewhat uncomfortable。Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an eACR of this book in exchange for an honest review。 All opinions are my own。 。。。more
Emily Mellow
，
It's just written very drily， with long passages about biblical history that should be interesting but aren't。 I wanted to like it but wasn't getting much from it。 It's just written very drily， with long passages about biblical history that should be interesting but aren't。 I wanted to like it but wasn't getting much from it。 。。。more
Ali
，
“While religious and financial manias might seem to have little in common， the underlying forces that give them rise are identical: the desire to improve one’s well-being in this life or the next。 And the factors that amplify the contagion of financial and religious mass delusions are also similar: the hardwired human propensity to imitate， to fabricate and consume compelling narratives， and to seek status。”“Manifestly， man is the ape that imitates， tells stories， seeks status， morally condemns “While religious and financial manias might seem to have little in common， the underlying forces that give them rise are identical: the desire to improve one’s well-being in this life or the next。 And the factors that amplify the contagion of financial and religious mass delusions are also similar: the hardwired human propensity to imitate， to fabricate and consume compelling narratives， and to seek status。”“Manifestly， man is the ape that imitates， tells stories， seeks status， morally condemns others， and yearns for the good old days， all of which guarantee a human future studded with religious and financial mass manias。” 。。。more
Socraticgadfly
，
Good but not that close to great。 Ideally， I'd put it just a bit above the 3。5 stars of Goodreads' current average， but not a full 4 stars。 But， we can't do half stars， and the reason it's at 3。5， not 3。75， is primarily due to low ratings from fundagelical types， so up it bumps！One issue， and the biggest: The book doesn't really live up to the subtitle。 Other than Neuroscience 101， that is， humans are agency imputing animals and pattern detecting animals， even when there's no actual pattern or n Good but not that close to great。 Ideally， I'd put it just a bit above the 3。5 stars of Goodreads' current average， but not a full 4 stars。 But， we can't do half stars， and the reason it's at 3。5， not 3。75， is primarily due to low ratings from fundagelical types， so up it bumps！One issue， and the biggest: The book doesn't really live up to the subtitle。 Other than Neuroscience 101， that is， humans are agency imputing animals and pattern detecting animals， even when there's no actual pattern or no actual agent， there's no "why" here。That said， as a "how" or "history of" book？ Pretty good。 Not fantastic， but pretty good。Sorry， fundagelicals， but I focused on the religious "madnesses，" and you're all wet。Biggest counterexample？ Bernstein actually has a pretty sympathetic treatment of David Koresh。Second biggest counterexample？ He looks at Islamic apocalypticism as well as Christian， and at Jewish apocalypticists ready to triangulate off you， the fundagelical subset of Christians who are often apocalyptic。As a good ex-Lutheran， I already knew more than the basics of Münster， as well as Joachim del Fiore。 I also knew the basics of Adventism。 The area newest to me was apocalyptic and non-apocalyptic strands of fundamentalism in all three "Western" monotheism intersecting in Jerusalem in the aftermath of the Six Day War。 。。。more
Wendy
，
。。。"the irresistable power of narratives; the human proclivity to imagine patterns where there were none; the overwhelming hubris and overconfidence of their leaders and followers; and above all， the overwhelming proclivity of human beings to imitate the behavior of those around them， no matter how factually baseless or self-destructive。"As an exposition of the faulty evolutionary wiring that runs humans' lives and our thinking， this book is loaded with examples and analysis。 But its organizatio 。。。"the irresistable power of narratives; the human proclivity to imagine patterns where there were none; the overwhelming hubris and overconfidence of their leaders and followers; and above all， the overwhelming proclivity of human beings to imitate the behavior of those around them， no matter how factually baseless or self-destructive。"As an exposition of the faulty evolutionary wiring that runs humans' lives and our thinking， this book is loaded with examples and analysis。 But its organizational structure is chaotic and undisciplined。In the middle of leading us through the history of a particular mass hysteria， he digresses into some other time period and event， and that just lost me。 This book needed a good editor and would have been much more effective if it was half as long。If anyone needed any more evidence that the human species is not okay， meaning not well， fatally flawed， on its way out， then this book will give you ample evidence。 I didn't need any more evidence， just would have appreciated a FOCUSED analysis。 Cognitive dissonance and the like permeate our history。 Enthusiasms， obsessions， prophecies， and conspiracies advanced with lots of violence seems the way of human being。 So tedious。 So unconscious。 Today it is pedophile rings under the White House， crypto-currency and 5G causing Covid。 Tomorrow it will be something else more ludicrous。Bring on that asteroid。 。。。more
Alice Lemon
，
This was。。。a collection of not-entirely-well-connected stories， some of which were fairly interesting and others of which were not。 It felt not well organized， honestly， and like it was half trying to be an homage to Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds （which I haven't read） and half trying to be a manifesto of why Evangelical Christian and Islamic eschatology are bad。 This was。。。a collection of not-entirely-well-connected stories， some of which were fairly interesting and others of which were not。 It felt not well organized， honestly， and like it was half trying to be an homage to Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds （which I haven't read） and half trying to be a manifesto of why Evangelical Christian and Islamic eschatology are bad。 。。。more
Andrew
，
A history lesson about religious zeal and financial market speculations。The whole book shows how a good narrative， weaved with historical and current affairs， can suck an audience， that should know better， in to a tale。
Robert
，
Berstein too much enjoys his personal role of how he labels humans: apes who tell stories。 I have no problem with that reductive statement。 The problem is， he has trouble getting to the heart of a story and rambles on for pages and pages of unnecessary historic details for his examples of the stupid things humans have done in crowds。His examples include military， financial， religious， ghosts， witches， and UFOs with side trips to other delusions。 Basic to his process is examining four characteris Berstein too much enjoys his personal role of how he labels humans: apes who tell stories。 I have no problem with that reductive statement。 The problem is， he has trouble getting to the heart of a story and rambles on for pages and pages of unnecessary historic details for his examples of the stupid things humans have done in crowds。His examples include military， financial， religious， ghosts， witches， and UFOs with side trips to other delusions。 Basic to his process is examining four characteristics of financial delusions （and how similar they are to other delusions）: 1。 Financial speculation begins to dominate social interactions。2。 Otherwise sensible people quit reliable jobs to speculate in stocks。3。 Skepticism is met with vehemence。4。 Normal people begin to make （and believe） outlandish financial forecasts。It doesn't take much to interpret these characteristics in the terms of the other mentioned delusions。 This is where the story telling aspect comes in。 The creation of a gripping narrative is necessary to attracting and holding the interest of suckers， er， people。 Think for a moment about cult delusions， and how logic can't hope to curtain them。 The current dispensationalism of US xians defies all logic other than the one imbedded in their collective delusions。 Unfortunately， those idiots continue to direct American foreign policy。 It will take us a long time to extract the US from the idiocy of the Trump family actions in the "Middle East。" 。。。more
Christopher John
，
I read Charles MacKay's original 19th century version of this as a youngster， and it's awesome to have this updated version， as lots of group nuttiness has happened since then。In addition to providing stories of mostly financial bubbles and astonishing religious events， the author also delves a bit int the the neuropsychology at work， discussing how we imagine that we use our cognitive abilities to make rational decisions， but more often our “lizard brain” makes decisions based on emotion， and t I read Charles MacKay's original 19th century version of this as a youngster， and it's awesome to have this updated version， as lots of group nuttiness has happened since then。In addition to providing stories of mostly financial bubbles and astonishing religious events， the author also delves a bit int the the neuropsychology at work， discussing how we imagine that we use our cognitive abilities to make rational decisions， but more often our “lizard brain” makes decisions based on emotion， and then our awesome cognitive powers step in to rationalize the decisions and make them seem reasonable。 That helps explain a lot of the world we see around us in the early 21st century。I also find reading about large-scale craziness in the past to be somewhat comforting。 It reminds me that our own era is not uniquely crazy。 It's simply people being people。 We have been here before and muddled through。 。。。more
Taylor Hubbard
，
I ended up DNFing this book at the 85% mark。 Yes I know I was almost done。 Fuck you if you think I should have forced myself to finish it。I feel like this book was severely mis-marketed。 I picked up this book assuming it would be stories about bouts of madness throughout history and an educated explanation of the events。 Boy was I wrong。Instead it's a tome of financial events throughout history， which sure， could still be interested。 But it's not what I signed up for。 Overall I was incredibly bo I ended up DNFing this book at the 85% mark。 Yes I know I was almost done。 Fuck you if you think I should have forced myself to finish it。I feel like this book was severely mis-marketed。 I picked up this book assuming it would be stories about bouts of madness throughout history and an educated explanation of the events。 Boy was I wrong。Instead it's a tome of financial events throughout history， which sure， could still be interested。 But it's not what I signed up for。 Overall I was incredibly bored trying to care about millionaires who struggle in the economy。 Sorry bud， I struggle paycheck to paycheck， so you get zero of my sympathy points。 。。。more
Irene
，
Detailed histories of crowd behavior， but very little about WHY certain manias become so popular。 I don't have enough background in financial systems to understand some of the terms and machinations of stock bubbles or other financial mishaps， so I would have appreciated a more basic explanation of what Enron （for example） was doing that other companies weren't doing。 I should have done more research when I ran across examples beyond my knowledge base， so that's my own fault， but I was more inte Detailed histories of crowd behavior， but very little about WHY certain manias become so popular。 I don't have enough background in financial systems to understand some of the terms and machinations of stock bubbles or other financial mishaps， so I would have appreciated a more basic explanation of what Enron （for example） was doing that other companies weren't doing。 I should have done more research when I ran across examples beyond my knowledge base， so that's my own fault， but I was more interested in WHY people fell for these schemes rather than the details of the accounting or bookkeeping strategems that caused the trouble。 。。。more
Michael Smith
，
too much religon
Chris
，
There are books that one reads that draw you along despite a prevailing uncertainty as to where you are going: this is one of those books。 The title is misleading as I found it to be more a book about religious influencers of American politics using un related cases to support the main intended thrust of the books。The historical examples of crazy religious and financial leaders was really an interesting read but a seperate topic of incidental value。 From about chapter five we start to get into t There are books that one reads that draw you along despite a prevailing uncertainty as to where you are going: this is one of those books。 The title is misleading as I found it to be more a book about religious influencers of American politics using un related cases to support the main intended thrust of the books。The historical examples of crazy religious and financial leaders was really an interesting read but a seperate topic of incidental value。 From about chapter five we start to get into the reason for the book: a treatise on later day American religious dispensationalist nut cases and their influence over American politicians who are so gullible and reckless with ethics and virtues as to be classified as unsuitable characters to lead a golf club let alone a country。 And unfortunately we end the book with a chapter that attempts to drag Muslim extremists under the same delusionista umbrella。 3。5 stars 。。。more
Charles
，
The title of this book is misleading。 There is very little here about "why" people go mad in groups。 There is some psychological discussion early on and near the end， but most of the book is detailed descriptions of historical cases of groups of people doing strange things。And stock market bubbles， which doesn't really make sense to me。 I just don't agree that people buying overpriced stocks is the same as doomsday cults。 The author also really dislikes fundamentalist Christians。If you ignore th The title of this book is misleading。 There is very little here about "why" people go mad in groups。 There is some psychological discussion early on and near the end， but most of the book is detailed descriptions of historical cases of groups of people doing strange things。And stock market bubbles， which doesn't really make sense to me。 I just don't agree that people buying overpriced stocks is the same as doomsday cults。 The author also really dislikes fundamentalist Christians。If you ignore the title and are interested in the events in the table of contents， you might like the book。 If you are interested in why people go mad in crowds， you will probably be disappointed。 。。。more
Andrew
，
An expansive and intelligent tour of many ways in which we are led astray by our psychological quirks and instincts。 At times， Bernstein meanders too much and it feels as though the book lacks a clear goal。 As with his previous books， his financial insights are the strongest and most engaging。
tpg0
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As an AI language model， I don't have personal opinions， but here's a summary and review of the book: "The Delusions of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups" is a non-fiction book written by William J。 Bernstein， a renowned financial historian and neurologist。 In this book， Bernstein explores the phenomenon of group thinking and how it can lead to irrational behavior and decisions。 The book draws on a wide range of historical events， from the Tulip Mania in 17th-century Amsterdam to the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s， to illustrate how group thinking often leads to the creation of unsustainable and illogical markets。 Bernstein also takes a deep dive into the workings of the human brain and how various cognitive biases can influence our thinking and behavior when we are part of a large group。 Overall， the book offers compelling insights into the psychology of group thinking and the various ways in which it can influence our behavior。 It is highly recommended for anyone who is interested in understanding how the human mind works and how we can avoid falling victim to the delusions of crowds。 In conclusion， "The Delusions of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups" is an insightful and thought-provoking read， offering a compelling analysis of group thinking and its impact on our behavior。
tpg1
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As an AI language model， I do not have personal opinions， but I can provide information about the book 'The Delusions Of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups。' Written by William J。 Bernstein， the book analyzes the causes of irrational behaviors exhibited by people when they are part of a group。 The author examines the phenomena of group dynamics and how social influence affects individuals' thinking， decision-making， and actions。 It highlights several case studies of collective hysteria， financial bubbles， and other mass delusions that have shaped history。 The book delves into the psychological and sociological factors that lead to group delusion， including herd mentality， confirmation bias， and cognitive dissonance。 It challenges readers to rethink their assumptions about human behavior and encourages them to consider the role of group dynamics in shaping it。 Overall， 'The Delusions Of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups' is a thought-provoking read that offers insights into the inner workings of the human mind when it comes to group behavior。
tpg2
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