Project Gutenberg 1997-04-01 Public domain in the USA. 247 Mackay, Charles 1814 1889 Mackay, Chas. (Charles) Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions — Volume 3 Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraordinary_Popular_Delusions_and_the_Madness_of_Crowds Produced by An Anonymous Project Gutenberg Volunteer and David Widger "Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions — Volume 3" by Charles Mackay is a historical account written during the mid-19th century. The book delves into the bizarre and often absurd beliefs and irrationalities that have captivated humanity throughout history, particularly focusing on the delusions associated with alchemy, fortune-telling, and other esoteric practices. The opening of this volume introduces the concept of discontent as a driving force behind the flawed pursuits of people seeking remedies for life's certainties, such as death and ignorance of the future. Mackay sets the stage for an in-depth exploration of historical figures and their pursuits of the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life. The narrative begins by listing various alchemists and their misguided beliefs, accompanied by tales of their relentless quests and the societal implications of their pursuits. Through these accounts, Mackay emphasizes that the folly of past generations should serve as an enlightening lesson for the present, revealing the strange and often humorous fabrications of the human mind in its search for meaning and fulfillment. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 63.4 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Social psychology Swindlers and swindling Impostors and imposture Alchemy Delusions Occultism -- Early works to 1900 Investments -- Psychological aspects Stock exchanges -- Psychological aspects Hallucinations and illusions Common fallacies AZ Text Psychology Category: History - Other 668029 2025-07-01T07:31:05.157082 text/html 657421 2013-02-05T16:48:56 text/html; charset=us-ascii 234460 2013-02-05T16:48:56 text/html; charset=us-ascii application/zip 332216 2025-07-01T07:31:13.532047 application/epub+zip 340992 2025-07-01T07:31:08.557098 application/epub+zip 316117 2025-07-01T07:31:07.343057 application/epub+zip 622948 2025-07-01T07:31:17.684506 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 594431 2025-07-01T07:31:12.749089 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 553417 2022-09-01T08:35:14.205156 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 602941 2025-07-01T07:31:04.704140 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 602674 2012-07-30T09:42:46 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 228438 2012-07-30T09:45:40 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 21019 2025-07-01T07:31:17.811499 application/rdf+xml 19729 2025-07-01T07:31:07.826076 image/jpeg 4298 2025-07-01T07:31:07.583051 image/jpeg 327220 2025-07-01T07:31:05.205086 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia