Mobs, Messiahs, and Markets

Surviving the Public Spectacle in Finance and Politics

By: William Bonner, Lila Rajiva

Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt

Collectively, people think and act in ways that are different from how they think and act as individuals. Understanding these differences, says William (Bill) Bonner, a longtime maverick observer of the financial world and the vagaries of the investing public, is vital to preserving your wealth and personal dignity. From the witch hunts of the early modern world to the war on terror, from the dot-com mania to the real-estate bubble, people have always been caught up in frauds, conceits, and wild guesses - often with devastating results. Now Bonner and co-author Lila Rajiva show groupthink at work in an improbable array of instances throughout history and reveal why swimming against the current pays. They explain why people so often abandon good sense and good behavior to "follow the crowd" and show you how to avoid getting caught up in the public spectacles around you.

If an investor merely recognizes the way mob sentiment works, he is far ahead of others. Ordinary people turn billions of dollars worth of their hard-earned money over to brokers and fund managers daily, believing that these strangers will give them back even more. Why?

This audiobook demonstrates that investors are in fact caught between a rock and a soft place - between the private world they can understand and master and the misleading public spectacle of the markets. "The farther away you get from your investments, and the less you suffer the consequences if they go bad, the worse your performance will be," say Bonner and Rajiva. "That's why 'collective' investments like index-linked funds, mutual funds, hedge funds, insurance funds, and pension funds are usually so bad. The investors are too far from the facts, and the managers are too far from the consequences."

©2007 Wiiliam Bonner and Lila Rajiva (P)2007 Gildan Media Corp

Critic reviews

"Entertainingly and irreverently investigates the "do-gooders" and "world-improvers" who stir up mass hysterias, unjustified wars and financial crises, while at the same time it warns readers how to better protect themselves and their pocketbooks." (Ron Paul, U.S. congressman and presidential candidate)
"I laughed aloud, I learned, and I was even offended. Behind the crafty writing, the authors share the deeper secrets of investing and push us to question what we believe. 'Think for yourself!' this book screams." (Steve Sjuggerud, editor, True Wealth investment newsletter)

Entertaining, useful but unfocused

Yes, I liked it overall. At some points it seemed the authors were being a bit mean-spirited, or they wandered a bit much. And in spite of the title, the book didn't feel like it was focused very clearly. That said, their contrary viewpoint was informative and amusing. The book entertained me and taught me some lessons.

Mind Opening!

A great book that might just make you a little uncomfortable as the truth can tend to do that when it is counter to long held beliefs. Excellent facts and historical examples, entertaining and enlightening. I highly recommend it! -Pat

super

A truly wonderful book, written with humor for people who love freedom. All the fraud of the war racket exposed, the failure of government programs from early history to today. Why new nuclear submarines are bought which the navy does not even want.
The only thing that could have made it even better would be the argument from morality:violence is immoral and therefor the state is immoral. You can't ask for minimum wages enforced with state violence, without getting the paper money financed war racket along with it. It always was a package deal and always will be. Violence becomes violence

Crowd control

Attempts to explain the dynamics of politics, religion, and the market via fresh perspectives counter to some other popular authors such as Friedman (The World Is Flat) and Surowiecki (The Wisdom of Crowds). He points out the good theories of both authors but attacks them head on as not representing the true un-flat world with its uneducated masses pulled down to the lowest level by a fear to stand out and buck against the majority. Interesting read.

Great, Witty, Thought Provoking Audio

I laughed out loud and thoroughly enjoyed listening to this enlightening audio, about a very serious subject. The authors give a great lesson in market behavior and how we as investors can protect ourselves. It's a wonderful listen.