# Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay

11 Hacker News commenters recommended Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended for its entertaining, encyclopedic accounts of mass manias like tulip mania and its witty writing. Caveat: it is not considered a reliable historical record, as it exaggerates and sensationalizes.

## Why people recommend it

- Entertaining, witty, and enjoyable to read (3 comments): "It's almost encyclopedic in scope. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that the hilarious chapter on English slang of the time was my favorite." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49410417)) "Excellent book. The high point for me was the enterprising fellow who set up a stall in London" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48732944)) "Very informative and a very enjoyable read." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48325252))
- Fascinating account of crowd manias (2 comments): "it's an absolutely fascinating book" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46926249)) "absolutely fascinating book" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46929991))
- Still relevant to modern bubbles (2 comments): "there are endless people saying 'it will never die and all the doubters are just wrong' before any big market crash." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49739777)) "The book has aged, but humanity hasn't" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48738735))

## What people warn about

- Exaggerated and not reliable history (3 comments): "it isn't considered a reliable historical record, a good amount of the book is exaggerated" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49411466)) "it famously embellishes, exaggerates, and sensationalizes the tulip bubble" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48733773)) "isn't considered a reliable source as it bases most of its story telling on satirical descriptions" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48968039))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dawn-of-everything.md): 23 recommend
- [Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cadillac-desert.md): 18 recommend
- [The Box by Marc Levinson](https://hackerapproved.com/p/box.md): 16 recommend
- [Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sapiens.md): 13 recommend
- [Chip War by Chris Miller](https://hackerapproved.com/p/chip-war.md): 13 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0471133094?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780471133094) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay", https://hackerapproved.com/p/memoirs-of-extraordinary-popular-delusions-and-the-madness-of-crowds/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).