Why did I love this book?
I got to write a Foreword to this one (albeit not the original 1841 edition), explaining why it has remained continuously in print. Technology races along, but human nature doesn’t change. To get some invaluable perspective on the irrationality of speculative behavior without having to lose a fortune yourself, read the first 100 pages or so.
5 authors picked Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is a history of popular folly by Charles Mackay. The book chronicles its targets in three parts: "National Delusions," "Peculiar Follies," and "Philosophical Delusions." Learn why intelligent people do amazingly stupid things when caught up in speculative edevorse. The subjects of Mackay's debunking include alchemy, beards (influence of politics and religion on), witch-hunts, crusades and duels. Present day writers on economics, such as Andrew Tobias, laud the three chapters on economic bubbles.
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