Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is a study of crowd psychology by Scottish journalist Charles Mackay. The subjects of Mackay''s debunking include witchcraft, alchemy, crusades, duels, economic bubbles, fortune-telling, haunted houses, the Drummer of Tedworth, the influence of politics and religion on the shapes of beards and hair, magnetizers (influence of imagination in curing disease), murder through poisoning, prophecies, popular admiration of great thieves, popular follies of great cities, and relics. Contents: ΓÇó Volume 1: National Delusions: ΓÇó The Mississippi Scheme ΓÇó The South Sea Bubble ΓÇó The Tulipomania ΓÇó Relics ΓÇó Modern Prophecies ΓÇó Popular Admiration for Great Thieves ΓÇó Influence of Politics and Religion on the Hair and Beard ΓÇó Duels and Ordeals ΓÇó The Love of the Marvellous and the Disbelief of the True ΓÇó Popular Follies in Great Cities ΓÇó Old Price Riots ΓÇó The Thugs, or Phansigars ΓÇó Volume 2: Peculiar Follies: ΓÇó The Crusades ΓÇó The Witch Mania ΓÇó The Slow Poisoners ΓÇó Haunted Houses ΓÇó Volume 3: Philosophical Delusions : ΓÇó The Alchemysts ΓÇó Fortune Telling ΓÇó The Magnetisers