Mobs, Messiahs, and Markets: Surviving the Public Spectacle in Finance and Politics

by William Bonner, Lila Rajiva

An insightful look at how to succeed by going against the crowd Collectively, people think and act in ways that are different from how they think and act as individuals. Understanding these differences, says William (Bill) Bonner-a longtime maverick observer of the financial world and the vagaries of the investing public-is vital to preserving your wealth and personal dignity. From the witch-hunts of the early modern world to the war on terror, from dot-com mania to the real estate bubble, people have always been caught up in frauds, conceits, and wild guesses-often with devastating results. In Mobs, Messiahs, and Markets, Bonner and coauthor Lila Rajiva show groupthink at work in an improbable array of instances throughout history and reveal why swimming against the current pays. The authors' cautionary tale of bubble economies reveals how the gush of credit let loose by Alan Greenspan has wreaked havoc on our lives-but their thoughtful and always entertaining approach also offers some sound investing principles for avoiding the pitfalls of the public spectacle, thinking for yourself, and protecting your money, your sanity, and your soul.

Genres: Finance, Business, Economics, Politics, Nonfiction, History

432 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Kasandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected this to have far more specific financial information and history in it; what the book does have is interesting, but you have to wade through a lot of sidenotes to get to the meat. On the whole, the plus of the book is about how group-think has worked throughout history (or not worked, actually)... but the writing style is extremely annoying, too jocular, too preachy, long-winded, and really a pain in the butt. The book is far too long, and the authors aren't nearly as clever and entertaining as they seem to want to be. This was like listening to someone at a party who, though intelligent and traveled, really just loves the sound of his own voice. After a while it sounds like a fly buzzing in your ear, no matter how sparkly the initial anecdote.

[Shaun · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting take on poilitics, religion and the market. If you like books by Malcolm Gladwell or Freakonomics, this would be an excellent book to read. I really enjoyed this book and it changed my perspective on how I think about politics, religion and markets. I highly recommend this book.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the beginning of the book, there is a preface that seeks to explain that this book will never win a Nobel Prize because it is readable. That said, this book is also more than a bit prophetic, in that it warns of the unsustainable nature of debt and the rise of property prices just before the great recession hit.  To be sure, there is a lot of insight that one can gain from a book like this, including a high degree of skepticism for those whose overly simplistic views of the world lead them to think of themselves as being fit to mold the world into the image of their own ideologies, something that has been a critical problem in the West since at least the Enlightenment.  This book comes with a large amount of snark, and as a fairly snarky person I do not have a problem with that.  That said, there are going to be people who are offended by a book like this and are not going to bother to read it to recognize that it has a lot of insight along with a large amount of disrespect for authorities in politics and economics within the contemporary and historical world.

Coming in at about 400 pages of material, this book is divided into six parts and seventeen chapters.  The book begins with a three chapter critique of impure reason that demonstrates the way that our reasoning processes go awry (I), including chapters on do-gooders gone bad (1), evolutionary explanations for why people's behavior goes crazy (2), and discussions of astrological influence (3).  After that the authors spend a couple of chapters talking about how mobs go awry (II), including a chapter on witch hunts (4) and another on jingoistic war scares (5).  Then the authors turn their attention to militant messiah figures (III), with chapters on the issue of war and memory (6), the way that empires are built on a lot of delusions (7), and the negative side of supposed revolutionary heroes (8) of the left.  The fourth part of the book then turns its attention to attacking Thomas Friedman's view of the flattening of the world (IV) with a discussion of the problem of numbers (9), what flat earth arguments ignore (10), and problems involving trade (11).  After that the author looks at the problem of bubbles (V), with chapters on the end of the bubble (12), million dollar trailers (13), central bank frauds (14), and the beginnings of the problem of the current bubble (15).  Finally, the authors end with a discussion of avoiding the mobs (VI) that encourages one to avoid being a chump of Wall Street (16), and the way that we are duped by our hearts (17), after which there are notes and an index.

What made this book funny to me is that it matched both my own snark as well as contained some of the same sorts of observations about the property bubble that I had noticed while watching By Owner on local television in Florida for fun and laughing about trailers worth a million dollars because of the value of the land they were on.  For those of us caught in areas where restrictions on property development artificially inflate the value of property, as is the case in much of the Portland area, this book is a reminder that folly is sometimes easier to see than it is easier to counteract, and the authors' advice to be far away from mobs and foolish crowds is sage advice.  The authors may not win any Nobel prizes for their economic research, but that is not due to a lack of quality but rather a lack of the sense of decorum that they operate with.  Indeed, that lack of decorum is the only negative I can say about the book as a whole, with the note that I hope that this generally rude attitude does not prevent a reader from grasping the sage wisdom about human folly in economics and politics that the book contains.

[Stephen J Pirrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The principles behind the book come across as very sound (long term investment, don’t chase the crowd etc), but a few things really let it down, primarily in terms of writing style: the authors’ subjectivity and editorial opinion on people they refer to. The authors also have some pretty strange analogies for example the market is like a woman - unpredictable, fiery at times, calm at others whilst investment needs the stability you’d expect from a man. Wow.
But the subject matter also lets it down: whilst only 15 years old it is now wildly out of date. Bush, 9/11 and the war on terror are a far cry from Obama, the GFC, Trump, social media, smartphone, crypto.

[Paul Bard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Part summary of “The madness of crowds”, part neoliberal critique, this 400 page book breezily jokes about the most awful aspects of human nature:

Our tendency to self-deceive in large-scale financial political and moral matters.

Despite quoting from the great books, and giving a breezy perspective on economic history, it does not seem to present any deeper contribution to our understanding of markets than simple traditional Christian prudence.

[Doug D · Rating 4 out of 5]

A counterintuitive approach to recognizing trends in world finance, globalization, markets, and politics. This is a book that is full of good humor and interesting analogies, although I would argue that the author omitted important context at times.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked this more than I expected and changed my thinking more than I expected.

[Kandachamy Vijayakumaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful treasure-trove for anyone interested in a wide range of topics from history to economics. The long chain of events and people needs a revisit to enjoy and remember for ever.

[Sam Mulwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

read this, evade the masses with your life and dignity intact.

[Chris King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and informative

[Nilesh Jasani · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a strange book. It is excellent on summarizing many great events of last century in a concise -and biased - form (for example the Peronist rule in Argentina or Mao era in China). It also makes some relevant points on US's current problems and yet there seems to be little in the way of conclusions. There are vitriolic diatribes against Friedman and a few others. And a bit Talebian tone throughout - we won't and can't forecast what is right but all else is wrong (and of course they do forecast repeatedly too). Yet, this is a book worth reading for its diversity and knowledge content.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very great book...will probably teach you more about economics and how the world works that almost any other. Not only that but Bill Bonner is a delightful read...and one that will make you think. He is quick, witty, and full of self-analysis that will strike you at the very core. From the book, "Thus does the neocortex sputter in fits and starts from dubious assumptions to preposterous conclusions with nary a whisper of doubt in between." Great, great writing.

[Sam Motes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Attempts to explain the dynamics of politics, religion, and the market via fresh perspectives counter to some other popular authors such as Friedman (The World Is Flat) and Surowiecki (The Wisdom of Crowds). He points out the good theories of both authors but attacks them head on as not representing the true un-flat world with its uneducated masses pulled down to the lowest level by a fear to stand out and buck against the majority. Interesting read.

[Lorenzo Barberis Canonico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this book was such a wild ride. It’s halfway between Taleb and Chuck Klosterman and delves into blunders and why we fall for charismatic leaders that eventually blunder.

[Allisonperkel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mostly fun book - at times very annoying (mostly due to the attempts at humor that fall flat), other times more a summation of other books (the life of Che and Mao were from books I've read) but when the book was good it was very good. Some wonderful insights into the madness of crowds

Fooled By Randomness was a much better, though only slightly similar book

[David Gillespie · Rating 4 out of 5]

For anyone who liked 'Wisdom of Crowds' this book provides an interesting counterpoint. It suggests that only some crowds are wise and provides eloquent instruction on why whilst injecting humour into a gallop through the history of mobs and the damage they cause.

A great read ... it takes a while to warm to its theme but stick with it, it's worth it.

[Franco Arda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personally, any book written by Bonner deserves serious attention for very useful ideas that make people more independent; financially and intellectually. While in his latest book he writes a bit too much about politics for my taste, his challanging ideas on market bubbles (excellent part on real estate), investments (excellent part on staying in cash) and psychology are outstanding.

[Void lon iXaarii · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings on this book. On the one hand there were a lot of deep insights about subjects and points of view rarely talked about but on the other sometimes it felt annoyingly moralistic and critical repeating some points, while with a few I even slightly disagreed. Still, overall an interesting book, with (mostly) good insights and ironic humor.

[Arthur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting take on the various shills that permeate the public and political space in the world. However, I think Bonner is as guilty of coloring his thoughts with an inward bias. Good read - especially the views on looking at the so called martyrs such as che, mao and many other despots...

[Yes & Not Yes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually a very funny book. The authors strike me as a bit too libertarian, but they provide a lot of good insights to a reader who is hoping to avoid the mob, group think, and so-called experts, among other things.

[Salamander]

I knew I was in for a ride when I couldn't stop laughing at the first page. Who knew 'cannibalism' and 'planetary improvement' fit so neatly in the same sentence?

EDIT: a friend introduced me to 'A Modest Proposal' by Jonathan Swift. I'm late to the party, as always.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quote from Edward R. Murrow: "A nation of sheep beget a government of wolves."

[Doug Reed]

boring

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great lines and interesting thoughts, but poorly edited. I think it might have been rushed to market, as so many of the authors' predictions were coming to pass.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could have used a team of editors. The authors' thesis is interesting, but obscured by lazy prose, self-conscious jokes and a surfeit of ellipsis. Recommended nonetheless.

[Yonnibardavi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. I lived with this book until done.

[James Zhang · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clever enough to be of little use

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read that my brother loaned me. Not as academic sounding as some similar books.

[Olwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting perspectives expressed by the authors on just about every subject. A student of politics or a legal professional might find it more enjoyable than I did.

[Rich Cromwell]

Bill Bonner is just an outstanding writer. I read this probably 7 years ago.