The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements

Who is the True Believer? According to Hoffer, he's a guilty hitchhiker who thumbs a ride on every cause from Christianity to communism. He's a fanatic, needing a Stalin (or a Christ--or [fill in the blank here] to worship and die for. He's the mortal enemy of things-as-they-are, and he insists on sacrificing himself for a dream impossible to obtain. He is today everywhere on the march. This book was required reading in freshman college courses in the 50's, and although not as well known now, it is truly a book for our times.