Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is a history of popular folly by Charles Mackay. The book chronicles its targets in three parts: "National Delusions," "Peculiar Follies," and "Philosophical Delusions." It examines why and how intelligent people do amazingly stupid things when caught up in speculative endeavors.

The unabridged text is a masterpiece in which Mackay's debunks alchemy, witch-hunts, crusades, and duels. Present day writers on economics, such as Andrew Tobias, laud the three chapters on economic bubbles.  Our summary focuses on three market manias that prior to the 19^th century which embody all of the same maladies and missteps we’ve witnessed in panics and bubbles over the past 30 years. We specifically apply McKay’s insights to understanding the Dot-Com Bubble, the Sub-Prime Crisis and other recent financial disasters.

As you’ll see, the ideas in Extraordinary Popular Delusions are as fresh and pertinent as they were when McKay wrote the book nearly 180 years ago.