Charles Mackay's Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds: A 52 brilliant ideas interpretation

by Tim Phillips

First published in 1841, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is often cited as the best book ever written about market psychology. Author Charles Mackay chronicles many celebrated financial manias, or 'bubbles', which demonstrate his assertion that "every age has its peculiar folly; some scheme, project, or fantasy into which it plunges, spurred on by the love of gain, the necessity of excitement, or the mere force of imitation." This still holds fast today! Among the alleged 'bubbles' described by Mackay is the infamous Dutch tulip mania, the South Sea Company bubble and the Mississippi Company bubble. And what do bubbles do? Why they burst of course. Tim Phillips's interpretation of Mackay's work is not a substitute for the original; its purpose is simply to illustrate the timeless nature of these inspirational insights by bringing them to life through modern business and political case studies. This brilliant interpretation of Extraordinary Popular Delusions... is an entertaining accompaniment to one of the most famous books ever written.

Genres: Nonfiction

120 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2009

Reviews

[S'hi]

This is one of those quirky little titles designed to appear as one thing when it is really something else. But then the title gives this away so it seems a little more honest. Still it is one of the modern business tricks set up to see how awake you are, or perhaps what your sense of humour is like. And it does have some important insights in it so it is worth a little consideration at least.

Half the time Tim Phillips is referring directly to Charles Mackay’s book. This is a combination of quotes and criticisms of the approach, yet by this very means it seems to also be parodying the source text.

Without a copy of the original to refer to I have no idea what the actual format is, but Phillips’ own format is rather curious. Set out as 52 chapters of two pages each it carries a kind of authority as a week-to-a-page diary. The title of each chapter is then expanded into a one-line introduction to the main idea, with a quote to one side as the topic is opened up by the first paragraph. These side comments slide slightly up and down the page from chapter to chapter, altering the tendency to read them before launching into the topic, or holding off until the flow is established enough to not feel interrupted by the extra idea.

Then in a highlighted box at the end of the second page, with a pin at the top of it, is a box headed: Here’s an idea for you. In this way it becomes a kind of workbook that could easily be used on a weekly basis as a little meditation. It also suggests it might be useful to use in a group for discussion and further action jointly.

It is a clever little tome.

Personally, it has amused me enough to consider writing something in this style for myself. I think that would be quite a fun exercise. The question is who would I aim my book toward, and what would be most helpful for them in such an approach? There is a lot more to this book than simple amusement.

I think I’ll read it over again to savour that impression.

[Amal]

كتاب جميل جدًا ، فيه أسلوب إقتصادي سلسل وبسيط وأمثلة حياتية حقيقية .. الجميل في الكتاب هو إعطاء القارئ فكرة وتركه لرسم الطريق ، ذكر النظرية أو المثال أو الحادثة وترك القارئ يطبقها أو ينشئها كيفما أتفق ، تمنيت لو أنّ فيليبس أسهب أكثر ..

[إيمان محمودي]

💠كتابنا اليوم (أوهام شعبية استثنائية و جنون الجماهير) للكاتب تيم فيلبس

هو كتاب مثير للاهتمام يبحث في الأوهام الشائعة والجنون الجماعي، وهو شرح عصري وحديث لكتاب قديم بقلم الكاتب تيم.

الكتاب يغطي مواضيع متنوعة مثل الأقوال المزيفة، نظريات المؤامرة، والجنون الجماعي، ويحتوي على أمثلة واقعية وتحليلات عميقة، و يشجع على التفكير النقدي والتحليل، بالإضافة أنه يحتوي على معلومات تاريخية قيمة ويثير التفكير والتفكير النقدي.

لكن اعتقد أنه قد يكون بعض المواضيع غريبة للبعض،بالإضافة أن القارئ يحتاج إلى تفكير نقدي لتقدير الكتاب بالكامل وهو أمر غير متوفر للجميع.

في المجمل كتاب انصح بقراءته وأعتقد أنه مناسب للقُراء المهتمين بالتفكير النقدي والتحليل.

تقييمي 5/10
قراءة ممتعة
إيمان محمودي

[Randeep Buttar]

The fact that the old classic can be made analogous to modern times demonstrates it's timeless findings. This will be of interest if you want an easy to digest read on herd psychology, behavioural economics with historical as well as modern examples. The author feels relatable and encourages critical thinking throughout.

[مساعد الشطي]

يفتقر لأمثلة حديثة و تشتت في محتواه

[Viktor Elofsson]

Fun book, but nothing more than some interesting quotes.

[David Clemens]

interesting in spots. overall a shallow summary of someone elses work. Arguably, this is probably much more readable than the original

[Ehab Al Hraki]

كتاب لطيف يعطي القارئ فكرة جيدة عن طريقة تفكير الجماهير التي يبدو أنها لا تتغير مع مرور الزمن !