About the Book

The True Believer is an insightful study of how an individual becomes a fanatic. Written by a self-educated San Francisco dockworker who produced philosophical treatises in his spare time, The True Believer became a bestseller when President Eisenhower cited it during one of the first television press conferences.

This small manual on the nature of fanaticism is an invaluable guide to understanding zealotry and mass movements, and is as relevant today as it was when it was first published six decades ago.

Eric Hoffer was born in 1902. He was a manual laborer, working at a variety of jobs throughout the twenties and thirties before moving to San Francisco in 1941 to “help with the war” as a longshoreman. He remained at this job for twenty five years while spending his free time reading and writing books. He is the author of more than ten books, including The True Believer, The Passionate State of Mind, The Ordeal of Change, and The Temper of our Time. Hoffer died in 1983, the same year that he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

“The True Believer glitters with icy wit ... bristles with deadly parallels ... It is a harsh and potent mental tonic.”—New York Times

Critical Praise

“The True Believer glitters with icy wit. . . bristles with deadly parallels. . . . It is a harsh and potent mental tonic.” — New York Times

“If you want concise insight into what drives the mind of the fanatic and the dynamics of a mass movement at their most primal level, may I suggest an evening with Eric Hoffer.” — John McDonough, Wall St. Journal

“[Hoffer] is a student of extraordinary perception and insight. The range of his reading and research is vast, amazing. He has written one of the most provocative books of our immediate day.” — Christian Science Monitor

“Its theme is political fanaticism, with which it deals severely and brilliantly. . . . It owes its distinction to the fact that Hoffer is a born generalizer, with a mind that inclines to the wry epigram and icy aphorism as naturally as did that of the Duc de La Rochefoucauld.” — The New Yorker

“Hoffer has outlined a remarkably clear and suggestive theory about the kind of social change he sums up as ‘mass movements,’ supplied concrete illustrative materials drawn from a wide historical range, and put them together in a brief, readable, and provocative book.” — New York Herald Tribune

“This brilliant and original inquiry into the nature of mass movements is a genuine contribution to our social thought.” — Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

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Product Details

• ISBN: 9780060505912
• ISBN 10: 0060505915
• Imprint: Harper Perennial
• On Sale: 01/19/2010
• Trimsize: 5.310 in (w) x 8.000 in (h) x 0.430 in (d)
• Pages: 192
• List Price: $16.99
• BISAC1 : PHILOSOPHY / Political
• BISAC2 : SOCIAL SCIENCE / Violence in Society
• BISAC3 : SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / Social Theory