Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, Volume 2

Charles Mackay (1814 - 1889)

"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one."
"In reading the history of nations, we find that, like individuals, they have their whims and their peculiarities; their seasons of excitement and recklessness, when they care not what they do. We find that whole communities suddenly fix their minds upon one object, and go mad in its pursuit; that millions of people become simultaneously impressed with one delusion, and run after it, till their attention is caught by some new folly more captivating than the first."
So wrote author Charles MacKay in this landmark work, which is still in print in the twenty-first century, and is considered most important for its analysis of economic "bubbles," such as the dot com bubble of 1997-2001. To a lesser degree, it was one of the first serious attempts to examine crowd psychology and is still a touchstone in that field. The history of the twentieth century suggests that as the planet has become more populated, the workings of crowd psychology have increasingly influenced everyday life, sustaining the longevity of MacKay's observations.
In this volume are eight topics, four of which MacKay would classify as "Peculiar Follies:" the Crusades, the Witch Mania, the outbreak of assassination by slow poisoning, and a belief in haunted houses. The other four: Popular Admiration for Great Thieves, Popular Follies in Great Cities, Duels & Ordeals, and Relics, he classified as national delusions.
(DrPGould)

Link to Volume 1

Genre(s): Psychology, Modern (19th C), Christianity - Other

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 Chapter 1 The Crusades, Part 1 Matt Markgraf
00:21:08
Play 02 Chapter 1 The Crusades, Part 2 DrPGould
00:24:18
Play 03 Chapter 1 The Crusades, Part 3 DrPGould
00:21:59
Play 04 Chapter 1 The Crusades, Part 4 HarmonicPearl
00:20:41
Play 05 Chapter 1 The Crusades, Part 5 DrPGould
00:28:20
Play 06 Chapter 1 The Crusades, Part 6 Linda Johnson
00:26:57
Play 07 Chapter 1 The Crusades, Part 7 Linda Johnson
00:28:41
Play 08 Chapter 1 The Crusades, Part 8 Linda Johnson
00:22:33
Play 09 Chapter 1 The Crusades, Part 9 Linda Johnson
00:25:01
Play 10 Chapter 1 The Crusades, Part 10 Greg Giordano
00:19:21
Play 11 Chapter 1 The Crusades, Part 11 Greg Giordano
00:15:56
Play 12 Chapter 1 The Crusades, Part 12 DrPGould
00:19:57
Play 13 Chapter 2 The Witch Mania, Part 1 kish
00:18:51
Play 14 Chapter 2 The Witch Mania, Part 2 DrPGould
00:19:34
Play 15 Chapter 2 The Witch Mania, Part 3 Robert Robinson
00:20:22
Play 16 Chapter 2 The Witch Mania, Part 4 Matt Markgraf
00:22:04
Play 17 Chapter 2 The Witch Mania, Part 5 Linda Johnson
00:29:03
Play 18 Chapter 2 The Witch Mania, Part 6 Linda Johnson
00:32:58
Play 19 Chapter 2 The Witch Mania, Part 7 Linda Johnson
00:32:13
Play 20 Chapter 2 The Witch Mania, Part 8 Linda Johnson
00:31:47
Play 21 Chapter 2 The Witch Mania, Part 9 Linda Johnson
00:28:16
Play 22 Chapter 2 The Witch Mania, Part 10 DrPGould
00:26:37
Play 23 Chapter 3 The Slow Poisoners, Part 1 Matt Markgraf
00:23:45
Play 24 Chapter 3 The Slow Poisoners, Part 2 Devorah Allen
00:18:46
Play 25 Chapter 3 The Slow Poisoners, Part 3 DrPGould
00:22:30
Play 26 Chapter 4 Haunted Houses, Part 1 Bill Mosley
00:24:59
Play 27 Chapter 4 Haunted Houses, Part 2 Bill Mosley
00:14:44
Play 28 Chapter 4 Haunted Houses, Part 3 Linda Johnson
00:33:36
Play 29 Chapter 5 Popular Follies of Great Cities Matt Markgraf
00:29:13
Play 30 Chapter 6 Popular Admiration of Great Thieves Sondra Robinson
00:30:12
Play 31 Chapter 7 Duels & Ordeals, Part 1 Matt Markgraf
00:35:19
Play 32 Chapter 7 Duels & Ordeals, Part 2 Linda Johnson
00:33:52
Play 33 Chapter 7 Duels & Ordeals, Part 3 Linda Johnson
00:30:03
Play 34 Chapter 7 Duels & Ordeals, Part 4 DrPGould
00:26:38
Play 35 Chapter 8 Relics DrPGould
00:17:11