6 h 10 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 10 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens to your judgment when you become part of a crowd?
In The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, Gustave Le Bon asks why people act differently together than alone. He argues that a crowd forms a mind of its own: more emotional, more easily led, and less open to reason. History, juries and parliaments become his testing ground for a study of collective belief.
Le Bon explores how images, slogans and repeated claims win followers when arguments fail. He examines the power of leaders and the forces that shift a nation's loyalties. His ideas offer ways to question politics, advertising and the news. Yet his sweeping judgments and thin evidence also invite scrutiny: this is a book to examine, not simply accept.
What you’ll discover
- The individual in the crowd Explore Le Bon's claim that shared emotion can overwhelm the judgment of each person.
- Images stronger than arguments Consider why vivid words and slogans carry such force in his account of collective thought.
- The leader's repeated message Examine how affirmation, repetition and prestige help leaders gather followers and hold their attention.
- Beliefs that move nations Follow his discussion of tradition, education and the forces that prepare crowds for change.
- Room for your judgment Weigh useful questions about group behavior against harsh judgments and evidence that readers challenge.
Who will love it
This is for readers curious about why groups act differently from individuals, and for anyone who follows politics, advertising or the press and wants a sharp lens on how slogans and leaders move masses.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A crowd becomes a different mind
- Shared certainty can grow from suggestion
- Striking images push arguments aside
- Crowd beliefs become objects of worship
- Public beliefs have deep roots
- Words move crowds through their associations
- Leaders gain power through repeated certainty
- Public institutions share the crowd's habits
- Test the crowd's confidence against evidence
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind
by Gustave Le Bon · 1895
Le Bon explores why a sober, decent person becomes reckless upon joining a mob.
Challenging2–5 hours to read2 languages
Learn a language with challenging classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
Picture a baker, a clerk and a schoolteacher. Alone, each is careful and fair.
The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind at a glance
- Reading time
- About 3 h 10 min2 h 30 min fast, 3 h 45 min slow
- Length
- 45,100 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1895by Gustave Le Bon
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A person in a crowd stops being himself
Le Bon begins with a distinction. A psychological crowd forms only when feelings and thoughts turn one way and individual personality fades. A thousand strangers in a square are not yet a crowd. Six people gripped by strong emotion might be.
The crowd is not an average of its members. It is like a chemical compound, whose properties differ from its elements. A shoemaker and a mathematician differ in intelligence, but they share the same instincts and passions. In the crowd, those shared unconscious traits dominate and the finer qualities of mind are lost.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1895
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 3 h 55 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Le Bon, Gustave. The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-crowd-a-study-of-the-popular-mind.
Le Bon, G. (2026). The crowd: A study of the popular mind. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-crowd-a-study-of-the-popular-mind (Original work published 1895)
Le Bon, Gustave. The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-crowd-a-study-of-the-popular-mind.
@book{lebon2026crowd,
author = {Le Bon, Gustave},
title = {The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-crowd-a-study-of-the-popular-mind},
note = {First published 1895}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Crowd by Gustave Le Bon about?
It argues that people who join a crowd form a collective mind that is more impulsive, credulous and extreme than the individuals within it, and it explains how leaders, slogans and images move such groups.
What is the law of the mental unity of crowds?
It is Le Bon's term for the way feelings and thoughts in a psychological crowd turn in one direction and individual personality fades, so that the group acts as a single temporary being.
What does Le Bon mean by prestige?
Prestige is a power over minds that paralyzes critical judgment and fills people with awe. It may come from name, wealth and position, or from personal magnetism like Napoleon's, and it fades through failure or discussion.
The author
Gustave Le Bon
1841–1931 · French social psychologist
Gustave Le Bon was a French psychologist born in Nogent-le-Rotrou in 1841. He lived in France and died in Marnes-la-Coquette in 1931. He wrote about psychology, society, and science. His book The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind was first published in French in 1895.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
