In Our Time

by Eric Hoffer

Eric Hoffer—one of America's most important thinkers and the author of The True Believer—approaches the critical problems of our time with the common sense that leads to startling conclusions and recommendations for an optimistic future.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

114 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Eric Hoffer was an American social writer and philosopher. He produced ten books and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 1983 by President of the United States Ronald Reagan. His first book, The True Believer, published in 1951, was widely recognized as a classic, receiving critical acclaim from both scholars and laymen, although Hoffer believed that his book The Ordeal of Change was his finest work. In 2001, the Eric Hoffer Award was established in his honor with permission granted by the Eric Hoffer Estate in 2005.

Early life

Hoffer was born in the Bronx, New York City in 1902 (or possibly 1898), the son of Knut and Elsa Hoffer, immigrants from Alsace. By the age of five, he could read in both German and English. When he was age five, his mother fell down a flight of stairs with Eric in her arms. Hoffer went blind for unknown medical reasons two years later, but later in life he said he thought it might have been due to trauma. ("I lost my sight at the age of seven. Two years before, my mother and I fell down a flight of stairs. She did not recover and died in that second year after the fall.I lost my sight and for a time my memory"). After his mother's death he was raised by a live-in relative or servant, a German woman named Martha. His eyesight inexplicably returned when he was 15. Fearing he would again go blind, he seized upon the opportunity to read as much as he could for as long as he could. His eyesight remained, and Hoffer never abandoned his habit of voracious reading.

Hoffer was a young man when his father, a cabinetmaker, died. The cabinetmaker's union paid for the funeral and gave Hoffer a little over three hundred dollars. Sensing that warm Los Angeles was the best place for a poor man, Hoffer took a bus there in 1920. He spent the next 10 years on Los Angeles' skid row, reading, occasionally writing, and working odd jobs. On one such job, selling oranges door-to-door, he discovered he was a natural salesman and could easily make good money. Uncomfortable with this discovery, he quit after one day.

In 1931, he attempted suicide by drinking a solution of oxalic acid, but the attempt failed as he could not bring himself to swallow the poison. The experience gave him a new determination to live adventurously. It was then he left skid row and became a migrant worker. Following the harvests along the length of California, he collected library cards for each town near the fields where he worked and, living by preference, "between the books and the brothels." A seminal event for Hoffer occurred in the mountains where he had gone in search of gold. Snowed in for the winter, he read the Essays by Michel de Montaigne. Montaigne's book impressed Hoffer deeply, and he often made reference to its importance for him. He also developed a great respect for America's underclass, which, he declared, was "lumpy with talent."

Longshoreman

Hoffer was in San Francisco by 1941. He attempted to enlist in the Armed forces there in 1942 but was rejected because of a hernia. Wanting to contribute to the war effort, he found ample opportunity as a longshoreman on the docks of The Embarcadero. It was there he felt at home and finally settled down. He continued reading voraciously and soon began to write while earning a living loading and unloading ships. He continued this work until he retired at age 65.

Hoffer considered his best work to be The True Believer, a landmark explanation of fanaticism and mass movements. The Ordeal of Change is also a literary favorite. In 1970 he endowed the Lili Fabilli and Eric Hoffer Laconic Essay Prize for students, faculty, and staff at the University of California, Berkeley.

Hoffer was a charismatic individual and persuasive public speaker, but said that he didn’t really care about people. Despite authoring 10 books and a newspaper column, in retirement Hoffer continued his robust life of the mind, thinking and writing alone, in an apartment.

Reviews

[Maher Razouk · Rating 5 out of 5]

من الجوانب المزعجة في زمننا هذا أننا لا نعرف ما الذي يحدث لنا. التغيير السريع والجذري يعني اقتحام المستقبل للحاضر، مما يجعل الحاضر عصياً على التنبؤ به مثل المستقبل. نحن لا نعرف ما إذا كانت الأزمة الحالية هي نهاية أم بداية؛ ولا نعرف ما إذا كنا في حالة هبوط أم صعود.

مؤخرًا، نبتعد بشكل متزايد عن ماضينا. نحن شعوب مختلفة تعيش في بلدان مختلفة، ونعلم أننا سنصبح أكثر اختلافًا مع مرور الوقت. هناك خوف غامض من أنه حتى إذا تمكنا من حل جميع مشاكلنا، فإننا سنكون أقل قيمة مما كنا عليه. سنكتفي فقط بالبقاء على قيد الحياة.
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Eric Hoffer
In Our Time
Translated By #Maher_Razouk

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstanding! This book was written in 1977 and it is as if he had written it yesterday as it is as applicable in addressing today's issues. A real prophet.

[Nico · Rating 4 out of 5]

“On this savage continent, anyone who sides with nature against man—as many of the wilderness boys do—ought to have his head examined”

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruminations on the human condition, both social and political, by a retired longshoreman who was a self-taught philosopher, many of which are as relevant to current events as they were when they were published in the 1970s. However, some of the essays do not stand the test of time because they reflect the prejudices prevalent in that era, and/or events subsequent to their publication have proved that the author's assertions were wrong. Nevertheless, it is well worth reading these essays for the insights that the author provides which can aid one in understanding current political and social upheavals.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book full of insights and thought provoking questions from Eric Hoffer. Heavily highlighted like everything I've read of his.

[Jean Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in 2008 this self-made philosopher opines about a number of issues involving types of governments and what makes people follow or not follow 'leaders'

[Spencer Willardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wisdom on every page. Writing in the malaise of the 1970s, it felt often that Hoffer was writing about today. Really a great writer and thinker that should be studied. His laconic wisdom is digestible, but deeply profound and useful.