Crowds and Power

From the destructive power of soccer crowds to the horror of tyrannical rulers, and from Bushmen and Pueblo Indian rain dances to the pilgrimage to Mecca, the author takes readers on a journey through anthropology, psychology, biology, religion and literature. Ranging from the deeply profound to the overtly controversial, from the finger exercises of monkeys to the hallucinations of alcoholics, this book may change forever the way readers look at groups of people and realise their awesome potential to be manipulated for good or for evil. He concludes that "If we would master power we must face command openly and boldly, and search for means to deprive it of its sting".