Multitudes

“British journalist Dan Hancox, in his new book Multitudes goes much further than his scholarly forebears in the effort to defend the crowd from its defamers. He is an unstinting admirer of crowds and crowd action, not just as a means of social change but as a heady social experience of transcendence.”
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker

“This useful history reconsiders the crowd stretching back to the Paris Commune, and examines the influential work of one conservative psychologist that laid the ideological groundwork for crackdowns against future mass movements.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“Thought-provoking … a celebration of the positive capacity of crowds to liberate.”
—Henrik Schøneberg, New Humanist

“An examination of the rich history of crowds in entertainment, sports, and politics.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Multitudes will make you question everything you thought you knew about crowds, even the ones you’ve been a part of. Hancox delivers a compelling case for understanding crowds as an essential force in modern history and as a powerful way of connecting to our shared humanity’”
—Leslie Kern, author of Feminist City

“Hancox provides, in lucid and passionate prose, a compelling account of the new psychology of crowds. He shows an impressive command of the technical literature, the historical record and contemporary events, resulting in a broadside against the reflex condemnation of crowds that we hear so often in the mouths of politicians and journalists. He has thereby produced a book of great value that will be hard to refute or ignore. Read this book. And, when you have finished, you will never use the word ‘mob’ again.'”
—Stephen Reicher, professor of psychology, University of St Andrews

“Shaking us out of the pandemic’s dogmatic social distancing, Dan Hancox inspires us to seek again a vital source of strength and creativity — the joy of crowds”
—Jodi Dean, author of Crowds and Party

“Joining crowds brings us joy, spontaneity, new connections, they’re empowering and they represent democracy in their purest form – no wonder they are always demonised by those in power. Hancox’s energetic reporting and deep dive into the history of crowd behaviour, helps us see them in a completely new light.”
—Josie Long, comedian

“A brilliant eulogy to the power and joy of the human throng. Hancox not only grasps the logic of crowds, but evokes their feeling with sparkling prose”
—William Davies, author of This is Not Normal

“A compelling reappraisal of the history and politics of crowds, which teases out the political project behind the spectre of the “angry mob”. Based on meticulous and enthusiastic research, it is an engaging – and unexpectedly touching – analysis of the lure of the crowd today”
—Charlotte Lydia Riley, author of Imperial Island

“Champions the erotic, capitalism-subverting, ego-transcending crowd … blindsidingly touching.”
—Stuart Jeffries, The Observer

“Elegant and persuasive … if by this point [Hancox] hasn’t persuaded you to switch off the dross you’re binge watching on Netflix and hotfoot it to a festival or football match, nothing will.”
—Sophie McBain, New Statesman

“Eloquent and soulful … a work of Benjaminian optimism about the potential of mass populism and collective epiphany to enrich and expand the radical future.”
—Alex Niven, Tribune

“Convincingly challenges Le Bon’s influence on the prevailing social analysis of crowd behaviour.”
—Gordon Parsons, Morning Star

“Lively and compelling … [the] reframing of crowds as imbued with agency, even freedom, is a welcome corrective.”
—Peter Geoghegan, Times Literary Supplement