Rating: 
Summary: A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest
Review: Written 50 years ago this classic book has been dusted off in the wake of the Taliban's bombing of the Pentagon in Washington DC and the WTC in NYC. The book concerns itself with the active phase of mass movements which are dominated by a true believer, a man of fanatical faith who is ready to sacrifice his life for a holy cause. The 19 suicide bombers who have wreaked so much havoc on America are fanatics of this sort. Eric Hoffer attempts to trace the fanatic's genesis and to outline his nature. Hoffer doesn't dance around the subject like a behavioral therapist billing by the hour. He assumes, in a very straight forward fashion, that frustration with one's life is a peculiarity of fanatics, and assumes that this mindset is necessary for techniques of conversion to achieve their deepest penetration and most desirable results with regard to the fanatic's twisted adherence to his new faith. Hoffer allows that to understand the various facets of the fanatical personality requires an understanding of the practices of contemporary mass movements. Written circa 1951, he studied the Nazi's, the Fascist's, and the Communist's because it was here where the successful techniques of conversion had been perfected and applied. This is a book of ideas and as such it offers up theories. It suggests that through amplifying the negative feelings of its frustrated fanatic's a movement advances its interests by seconding their propensities. Hoffer also posits the thought that all not mass movements are bad, however the central point of the book is to explain the composition of the mindsets of a movement's collective of True Believers. At 168 pages followed by 9 pages of notes, the book is not difficult nor is it an arduous task to read. In fact it's pithy. It has short punchy sections, 125 of them. The work is to be found in the reader's reflections on Hoffer's assertions. He covers the appeal of mass movements and the desire for change found in potential candidates, the personality traits of potential converts, the unity and self sacrifice of the members that is necessary for the movement to achieve its ends, and the factors which determine the length of its active phase. I would offer here that lengthy reflection is suggested if the reader is to derive the full benefits of Hoffer's insights. Hoffer's beginning notion is that "people with a sense of fulfillment think the world is good while the frustrated blame the world for their failures. Therefore a mass movement's appeal is not to those intent on bolstering and advancing a cherished self, but to those who crave to be rid of an unwanted self. He continues by saying that the true believer "cannot be convinced, only converted". This basic tenet of the story is about human nature and its susceptibility to totalitarianism both secular and sectarian. To wit, he writes that "all mass movements strive to impose a fact proof screen between the faithful and the realities of the world. And, that that faith becomes the things the fanatic declines to see. He avers how startling it is to realize how much unbelief is necessary to make belief possible, and that faith manifests itself not in moving mountains, but in not seeing mountains move. He say's that in the context of mass movement's faith should not be judged by its profundity, sublimity, or truth but by how thoroughly it insulates the individual from himself and the world as it is." If you have any familiarity with the story of Jim Jones and his Jonestown Kool-Aid mass suicide, or of the group suicide of the members of the cult who found new meaning in the passage of the Hale Bop comet, or of the mental make up of those who bought into the seven seals dogma of David Koresh in the fatal Waco fiasco, then you will recognize that of which Hoffer describes. Read this book for further insight into the fanaticism of the holy warriors of the taliban and perhaps it will steel your resolve for the long struggle we are all in for.
Rating:
Summary: Still going after all these years...
Review: Eric Hoffer's The True Believer, Thoughts On The Nature Of Mass Movements, was a required text in my high school back in the late fifties. I have just finished re-reading it, and it is as useful and illuminating as it ever was. Hoffer was a longshoreman, a kind of auto-didact, a non-academic thinker and propounder of ideas who found an audience in post-war America, an America which was tired of the terrors of war and sought to understand how such frightening ideologies could get started in the first place. This interest came at the height of Stalin's Soviet Union's early post-war expansionist imperialism, and at the end of Hitler's failed Third Reich. The best thing about The True Believer is that it is an antidote, and a cautionary tale, to these two great tyrannies: how they worked, how they were constructed, and what happens to them. I think that this book is still very pertinent today, especially with regard to the Islamic world's activities against the West. It also exposes the roots and causes of any mass movement, not just political or religious ones. Hoffer sees a continuing thread, a commonality, among all mass movements. How do they attract acolytes? What kind of people do they appeal to? How does the leader of a mass movement keep his adherents in the fold? What are the roots of its disintegration and demise? This book is short. It is also somewhat repetitive, but I found the repetition to be a good tool to keep the reader aligned with the basic elements by restating them again in a slightly different caste each time. I would recommend the reading of this book in conjunction with the reading of any book which seeks to unravel the threads of tyranny and modern-day terrorism that hound our world. One caveat: the book is over fifty years old. Some of it is archaic. There are also some wrong, I think, conclusions about some things. So when you read it, feel free to disagree. It is what makes the book so good. It is possible to pick out flaws yet still benefit from the broad overview put forth by the unredoubtable Hoffer. A good basic book for the reader of history and of the psychology of groups and movements.
Rating: 
Summary: An essential book for our time
Review: The key to understanding destructive human organizations. The world is built by practical organisations, and it is periodically damaged or destroyed by "mass movements". From religous cults to the the open source movement, all mass movements have a similar structure and dynamic.
Rating:
Summary: Learn what lurks beneath the mind of an extremist
Review: First published in 1951, this is one of very few books then that probed into the mind of a true believer whose blind faith and single-minded allegiance had nearly destroyed the world in the last century. 50 years on, some of Hoffer's analyses still ring true for fundamentalists, extremists and even terrorists which we now labeled these true believers. What makes Hoffer's book so remarkable is his ability to filter out the common ingredients that gave rise to mass movements hitherto and traced them to their roots. And he ended up in the psyche of an insecure and frustrated individual. His non-academic background largely contributed the book's originality since he was not strait-jacketed by the dominant thoughts in his times. Though some might feel uncomfortable with his sweeping generalisations without the rigors of scientific analysis, I do not see it as a major defect since the subject matter is unique and difficult to duplicate under control environment. All in all, this is a brilliant and deeply insightful book for anyone who wants to peek into what lurks inside the minds of true believers or anyone who wishes to lead them.
Rating:
Summary: A classic that can change the way you see the world
Review: This little book is a remarkable achievement. Written by Eric Hoffer who, at the time, was a dock worker with no formal education, it is one of the best treatments of the nature and effects of ideological fanaticism ever produced. The presentation, in short chapters - each demanding to be thought about carefully - is a synthesis of years of careful reading and research on Hoffer's part. It is a book that can be read and reread with each new reading shedding new insight on political and social issues of our time. That Hoffer went on to become something of an apologist for reactionary government response to many of the protest movements during the sixties - including the civil rights movement which he characterized as a 'racket' - should not blind anyone to the value of his first book. Its insights are still fresh and its wisdom is timeless. He, alas, didn't always take his own lessons to heart.
Rating: 
Summary: Wacko Hullaballoo!
Review: The dust jacket for the original 1951 print sells "The True Believer" as insight into Stalin's "'secret weapon,' his ability to generate enthusiasm and self sacrifice in all manner of people." It's a misleading premise. Stalin and many of Hoffler's other examples are less mass movement leaders than totalitarian dictators! They do not sweep unfulfilled people off their feet, but subdue and rule through force. Myriad peoples struggle to get away from the world's "Stalins," not follow them! The Soviet Union and scores of dictatorships have fallen in recent decades because the "leader" exhausted resources trying to *contain* "his people!" In short, there is no differentiation between "mass movement" and reign of terror! Broadly, Hoffer claims there is a mass movement man/personality, afraid of his own freedom - of facing himself. Why then, did vanquished Nazis (the epitome of Hoffler's "true believers") strive desperately to surrender to the U.S. rather than fall into the hands of Soviets (the other epitome)? Hoffler theorizes that "true believers" would rather go from communist to fascist, or vice versa, rather than become a democrat - for the "true believer," any mass movement is preferable to individuality. Then wouldn't Nazis abhor America's individual freedoms and run instead into the bosom of Stalin's "mass movement?" For the best answer to that, ask folks who ran through barbed wire and climbed a Wall to get to the West.
More troubling is Hoffer's consistent allusion that slaves want to be slaves. For example, Hoffer pulls these theories out of his rump: "The absolute equality among the slaves, and the intimate communal life in slave quarters, preclude individual frustration." And, "The segregated Negro in the South is less frustrated than the non-segregated Negro in the North" (#26, 40). Tell it to Rosa Parks! Much of this book is an insult to oppressed people... and to many of America's guiding principles. For most of Hoffer's theories, he cherry picks one example from scores of nations and thousands of years. A gullible reader could think up further examples to support Hoffer's claims. And a mildly discerning reader could come up with a handful of counter examples. In short, Hoffer explains mass movements like Nostradamus explains the future. In fairness, Hoffer is dead on with some points (wink). Like when he says failed or dried up artists "become the most violent extremists in the pursuit of their holy cause" (#37). The example of Hitler "verifies" this theory. And so does my friend Joe. He used to do cartoon sketches of people (giant head, small body). He'd ask what their favorite sport was, and sketch in a tennis racquet or skis, etc. One day he lost his touch -- and he is now the most rabid 49er fan I know! In Hoffler style, here's my rating guide: People who give 5 star reviews are eager to praise something outside themselves. A leader who promises answers easily sways them. For example, Italians who cheered Mussolini were 5 star people. 1 star reviewers show disaffection with the book, reflecting their internal emptiness. They are despondent, ripe to be enthralled by a more charismatic book, and are prime candidates for a cult. For example, people who were bored with The Backstreet Boys were easily swept up by the flashy propaganda of N Sync. 4 star people are sad, pathetic losers. They are perhaps most dangerous to global stability. 3 star reviewers are compromisers, clinging to a middle ground. Afraid to choose, they are desperate for a mass movement to choose for them. 3 star movements include Bolshevism, early Christianity, and Hulkamania. I give 2 stars. And I recommend the writings and life of Orwell (not too much, I mean I don't worship the guy or anything!) for clearer takes on "mass movements" and individuality. Peace out, fellow individuals!
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Summary: I USED TO BE ONE!
Review: Take it from an ex-"born again" Christian this book is the best explanation of how and why people join cults, religions, gangs, and terrorist organizations. I read this book a few years after I regained my senses and stopped being a "born again." Hoffer offers a clear explanation about why many are drawn to "something greater than themselves." I highly recommend this book along with any of Nathanial Branden's books on self-esteem. And I most highly recommend HOW TO SAVE AMERICA AND THE WORLD because of its drawing together of all the themes in Hoffer's and Branden's work.
Rating:
Summary: An essential book for our time
Review: The key to understanding destructive human organizations. The world is built by practical organisations, and it is periodically damaged or destroyed by "mass movements". From religous cults to the the open source movement, all mass movements have a similar structure and dynamic.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful and Relevant
Review: Hoffer explains eloquently the various philosophical natures of extremism and radicalism and the various criteria these groups or individuals meet or need to become full-blown true believers. Hoffer's personal story makes this work of genius all the more important as it proves that one does not need academic training or a college education to compose a philosophical work such as this. This work, although it was written in 1951, remains relevant in current times and proves quite insightful insofar as Westerners may be able to better understand the proselytizing nature of Islamic interpretations.
Rating:
Summary: Political or personal motives?
Review: Since reading this book in 1984, I have been deeply impressed with its relevance in modern society. We should look at all world leaders from this lense. The true believer is a very dangerous breed. I feel this book changed me in a significate way. It is a difficult but most read. It should be required reading in all colleges and by all in the news media.
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