The True Believer

Listen: This book may seem out of time with its non-PC references because it was written in 1966. But I have thought about this book more than any I have read this year. A book that clearly predicted today's American dialog. To be recommended by both Dwight Eisenhower and Hillary Clinton intrigued me. Be forewarned: Although it is a thin volume, the writing is extremely literate and very dense.

In this very short, clear, accessible book, Hoffer explains the causes, attractions, and perils of fanatical mass movements. Hoffer identifies individual failure as a potential source of anger and frustration motivating frustrated individuals to band together against a perceived enemy. Reinforcing one another’s rage and grievance, fanatics find comfort in forming part of a like-minded group. They derive self-esteem from attributing their own personal failure to a common foe. And they deceive themselves into viewing violence as a noble and necessary choice.

Though writing more than three quarters of a century ago to explain the devastating rise of Bolshevism and… show more.