Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements (Perennial Classics)

As for the reviewer who is harshly critical of Hoffer, he obviously didn't read the book or somehow didn't grasp Hoffers assertions. This is a great book that helped me understand the behavior of other people and groups of people. It also helped me understand why the war in Iraq has been tremendously more difficult than anticipated. Our government failed to understand the people and culture of Iraq. This is a book that I will insist my children read when they get old enough. This is probolly one of the 5 best books I have ever read.

An exceptional thinker. I am amazed how little the world knows about ERic Hoffer. I read True Believer in the context of the Hong Kong movement for democracy -- it makes great sense understanding the nature of revolutions- how they begin and eventually who takes over ! A MUST READ for all of civic society.

With clarity and simplicity, Eric Hoffer reveals the face of fanaticism. Even though the book is from 1951, it is still very relevant because, although the names of the causes might have changed, the actors have not. People still are people and have the same tendencies. A must read to understand the roots of the fundamentalistic movements, be they religious, political or economic. The basic characteristics are the same, and the results show a remarkable similarity.

Like The Ordeal of Change, these are simple observations but almost every sentence/paragraph takes you to depths and insights that can shake your most steadfast beliefs and truly broaden your horizons of understanding. The subject matter is incredibly relevant to what's going on in the world today, perhaps even more than when it was written.

This is indubitably Hoffer's magnum opus. So much so, that U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower read The True Believer in 1952 and gave copies to friends, and recommended it to others. It's a must read for anyone who desires to understand the nature of mass movements.

Although written in the early 50's, this small book rings true in this world of fanatical religious beliefs and their associated senseless violence. Each page is crafted carefully. Not an easy read, but a crucially important one. I find myself returning to it again and again in an attempt to explain events that horrify us all.

Although originally published in 1951, "The True Believer' remains accurate and relevant to the issues of post-modern society. Eric Hoffer explains how mass movements and discontent are fueled by the increasingly lack of creative jobs available to workers...how the growing feeling of rejection develops as one falls further and further away from 'mainstream society' economically, socially and educationally...how one becomes a fanatic about social change in the quest to regain his sense of self and purpose.

Did you ever wonder how groups of smart people can do really dumb things? Do you know how a mass of morons find a leader? Have you noticed that the "new" boss is the same as the "old" boss but now they're "good"? This is a great education that needs to be pondered one page at a time!

Although written in the early 50's, this small book rings true in this world of fanatical religious beliefs and their associated senseless violence. Each page is crafted carefully. Not an easy read, but a crucially important one. I find myself returning to it again and again in an attempt to explain events that horrify us all.

Although originally published in 1951, "The True Believer' remains accurate and relevant to the issues of post-modern society. Eric Hoffer explains how mass movements and discontent are fueled by the increasingly lack of creative jobs available to workers...how the growing feeling of rejection develops as one falls further and further away from 'mainstream society' economically, socially and educationally...how one becomes a fanatic about social change in the quest to regain his sense of self and purpose.

Did you ever wonder how groups of smart people can do really dumb things? Do you know how a mass of morons find a leader? Have you noticed that the "new" boss is the same as the "old" boss but now they're "good"? This is a great education that needs to be pondered one page at a time!

Quothe Mr. Hoffer: "They who clamor loudest for freedom are often the ones least likely to be happy in a free society. The frustrated, oppressed by their shortcomings, blame their failure on existing restraints. Actually their innermost desire is for an end to the “free for all.” They want to eliminate free competition and the ruthless testing to which the individual is continually subjected in a free society." Hoffer suggests that, to a significant extent, the foregoing may well serve as THE fundamental motivation for enlisting in a given 'Mass Movement'. Hoffer also opines that attendant acts of seeming selflessness occasioned by 'joining up' may be little more than an unconscious attempt to address self-value issues. Mark Twain made a different, yet similar case, in his essay "What is Man?" when positing that the individual cannot truly be selfless as he/she must always respond to the demands of his or her inner 'monarch' - a monarch which ultimately "requires" certain courses of action of us all, the satisfaction of which reduce any notion of 'free-will' to the status of mere theory.

Summing up: Hoffer's "True Believer" offers some intriguing 'food for thought' presented in an intelligent manner about both the nature of "Movements" in general, and the individual 'foot soldiers' who constitute the rank-and-file. Any book providing such well-prepared cuisine for the reader's consumption is truly 'A Worthwhile Read'.

First, Eric Hoffer is an oddball character who never attended a university or worked for a foundation. He is a self-made intellectual and understood more about the nature of society, culture and politics than most people.

The book revolves around mass movements...how to tame a society and lead them toward a goal. It weaves in history and gears you to thinking of various modern-day episodes. The book leaves you in a state of pondering after finishing it. You start to assess things in a different way, and view society differently.

It's not for a high school kid, and I'd only recommend it to a person who has a keen interest in cultures and how movements start or stop. The rest of Hoffer's books are of the same variety, although this is one of the few that you can find on the market. The rest are rarely if ever seen. Note, the book can be read in roughly six hours but you need to spread it out and think over each element that he lays out.

This book was recommended by Mark Levin on his radio program. I was interested and so ordered it through the store and finished reading it a few weeks back.

First, my hats off to Mr. Hoffer. A self-educated man who witnessed the evils of the 20's, 30's, and 40's and came to the conclussion that those decades were not aberations.

There have always been mass movements and they all tend to share the same characteristics. Also, they share the same type of leaders - those who preach while safely in the rear - and the followers who perform the dirty work.

This years - 2008 - political election gives a prime example of a mass movement with the slogans of hope and change.

On a side note, I just finished the novel Gai-Jin by James Clavell. It is interesting how the use of a mass movement is used in this novel.

I recommend this book to anyone trying to understand lemming-like behavior. Beware - it is for the serious reader.

Hoffer makes broad claims, but does not support them with evidence. I believe Hoffer is much overrated as a philosopher. However, this book is still necessary reading for anyone who is studying the topic of cults, thought-reform, and coercive control. However, Robert Lifton's book on brainwashing is much better. Lifton did structured data collection.

I am rereading True Believer for the first time in fifty years and learning much more now. An absolutely seminal work for understanding the characteristics and personalities that go into mass movements. References a bit dated but truths are not to be missed.

Must reading for anyone interested in getting into the minds of zealots who believe their movement must be the only path mankind must follow. Hoffer's work helps explain what drove such adherents of diverse movements like Nazism and early Christianity and how they failed or succeeded. It explains what motivates followers of militant Islamic movements as well as neo-Nazis in the West.

Daniel E. Spector, PhD
US Army Chemical Corps Historian, Retired

Hoffer's insights are objective and sharp. He explains why we believe things. You'll see yourself and some of your friends in each chapter. After identifying the tricks you play on yourself, you'll be able to start eliminating them from your thinking, as well as recognize them in others. It's philosophy, religion, self-help, and sociology. It's a toolbox of useful thinking techniques as well as a detector of junk-thinking.

Read this in high school several decades ago. The analysis of the way groups think and are manipulated stuck in the back of my head. On re-reading, I found them even more relevant in today's politics. Hoffer and Chomsky are must-reads for anyone wanting to take a peek behind the wizard's curtain to see the workings of political and religious manipulation.

Written in 1951, Hoffer's arguments and insights easily apply to life today. Hoffer tackles both religious and political movements. This book was written long before the horrors of Jonestown and a half century before "terrorism" became a household word. However, while reading this, I couldn't help but make comparisons to our presence in the Middle East or the religious wars we battle (whether we call them "religious wars" or not). Sadly, we have learned little in the 6 decades since Eric Hoffer wrote this book.

My interest in backgrounds of those who energize a true people movement especially in its early stages is what led me to this book. And it was a satisfying read. It especially helped my understanding of why such movements have such energy, commitment and impact in the beginning and then morph into something more institutional and predictable. The author's simple, almost austere approach to writing makes it all the more helpful. For this one to work for you, you really have to have an interest in the topic. The four-star rating reflects my satisfaction with the work in its specifically fulfilling the objective of my reading.

Read this in high school several decades ago. The analysis of the way groups think and are manipulated stuck in the back of my head. On re-reading, I found them even more relevant in today's politics. Hoffer and Chomsky are must-reads for anyone wanting to take a peek behind the wizard's curtain to see the workings of political and religious manipulation.

Written in 1951, Hoffer's arguments and insights easily apply to life today. Hoffer tackles both religious and political movements. This book was written long before the horrors of Jonestown and a half century before "terrorism" became a household word. However, while reading this, I couldn't help but make comparisons to our presence in the Middle East or the religious wars we battle (whether we call them "religious wars" or not). Sadly, we have learned little in the 6 decades since Eric Hoffer wrote this book.

My interest in backgrounds of those who energize a true people movement especially in its early stages is what led me to this book. And it was a satisfying read. It especially helped my understanding of why such movements have such energy, commitment and impact in the beginning and then morph into something more institutional and predictable. The author's simple, almost austere approach to writing makes it all the more helpful. For this one to work for you, you really have to have an interest in the topic. The four-star rating reflects my satisfaction with the work in its specifically fulfilling the objective of my reading.

I have probably recommended Hoffer's 'True Believer' more than any other book I've ever read. His thoughts are, at the same time deeply insightful, chilling and ring of underlying truths about human nature. Hoffer dissects, as under a microscope, the essential nature of the fanatic i.e. the searcher, dissatisfied with himself, who always longs for self-completion and seizes it--avidly--in the form of intense belief. As such, he is not amenable to logic. He is blind to reality and can only feel the 'truth' of the great cause that he has immersed himself in.

Logic means nothing, belief and conviction mean everything. He lusts for the total committment and sometimes the self-immolation that comes from blind belief. Hoffer has the profound insight that 'True Believers', no matter their political or religious stripe; no matter their lethal animosities, are essentially the same people. They are the same people, two sides of the same coin, and as such, are totally and sometimes devastatingly interchangeable. Hitler claimed, in "Mein Kampf" that his primary source of converts was fanatical Communists. He had no use for the more lukewarm Social and Christian Democrats. They were, by nature, fence sitters. According to Hoffer: 'You cannot convince a true believer; only convert him.'

Hitler, a man who understood the power and weakness of the True Believer as much as anyone, eschewed logic and reason. Instead he promoted the sheer emotionalism of sheer 'belonging', faith and consolidarity with a mass movement--loss of individuality--that the true believer and fanatic could totally immerse himself in.

The Christian-Killing Saul, on the road to Damascus, becomes an instant, devout and fanatical convert to the religion he had been persecuting. He became Paul, the defender of the Resurrected Christ. "What is the Opposite of a fanatical Religionist?" Hoffer asks us. "Atheist?" "No." answers Hoffer. "The atheist and religionist are fellows in fanatical faith." The opposite states Hoffer is the gentle agnostic.

Much of the grief and death of the Twentieth Century, and now extending into the Twenty-First century, is the product of 'True Believers.' Communism, Fascism, Naziism, Radical Islam--all demonstrably false and failed philosophies that have generated tsunammis of faith and fanatism. Entire peoples have been sacrificed on their altars. The more demonstrably fictitious is a belief, a faith, the more ferventaly its admirers cling to it. Reason is nothing. Belief is everything and, there, lies the continuing tragedy of the human race.

Ron Braithwaite author of novels--"Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"--on the Spanish Conquest of Mexico

He has an intriguing theory but like any theory it has yet to be proved, Yet even here Mr. Hoffer inserts his own disclaimer. He says he is merely offering a collection of thoughts and doesn't represent any of what he states as facts. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the field of political behavior. Mr. Hoffer has surely left an indelible mark.

Although written by a supposedly "uneducated" man, it turns out that he was more educated than most "Highly-educated", pseudo-intelligent people I know or have heard of. This is a Classic book about the psychology of the Masses. It applies to humans in the past, present and future because it's about a profound defect inherent in the Human Nature. Just watch the amazing effect of the non-stop propaganda and non-news delivered by the Mid-stream Media every minute of the day, and it will all become very clear to you---the truly intelligent reader.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough!!!!!!!