Mad mobs and Englishmen? -- now available!

A short, pithy and topical e-book discussing the real psychology behind the myths and realities of the 2011 London riots - written by leading world experts in crowd behaviour, rioting and hooliganism.

MAD MOBS AND ENGLISHMEN? is currently available on amazon.co.uk:

-- only £2.39 for a limited period, only 99p!



If you're coming from the US, the e-book is also available on amazon.com:

-- only $3.32

Don't have a kindle? You can still read this e-book on your Your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Android Phone.

Media coverage on publication -- a round-up

There has been widespread coverage of Mad mobs and Englishmen? across the media, since it published on Friday 18^th November. Here’s a quick round-up of some of the main features:

Print:

Guardian Science

Guardian Media

The Daily Telegraph

Sky news

BPS research digest

Radio:

All in the Mind – Radio 4 programme interviewed the authors as a feature on the riots, that aired on Tuesday 22^nd at 9pm: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017cfv8

LBC radio – interviewed the authors at 8pm on Friday 18^th November: http://lbc.audioagain.com/index.php?sid=1&player=showchannel&channel_id=347.

Good morning Scotland – the BBC Scotland morning programme – interviewed the authors on the morning of Friday 18^th November: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074hf7

Mad mobs and Englishmen: media round up

There has been plenty of early coverage for Steve Reicher and Cliff Stott's debut eBook already, with the authors writing pieces challenging the mainstream response from politicians and mainstream media for The Guardian, The Scotsman and The Psychologist magazine - here's a taster...

'Cliff Stott: Getting into the Mindset of a mob mentality' The Independent, 9th August 2011:

"Of central importance is that we know that "riots" cannot be understood as an explosion of "mob irrationality". Nor can they be adequately explained in terms of individuals predisposed to criminality by nature of their pathological disposition." So why do people riot? READ MORE

'You won't prevent future riots by disregarding the psychology of crowds' Guardian, Friday 19 August 2011:

"So the accusation of mindlessness, the lazy language of the "mob", and the use of discredited deindividuation theories, is not just wrong. It is positively dangerous. It stops us paying attention to what crowd actions tell us about how rioters understand their society. It stops us from addressing how these understandings come about ... it dooms us to more dissatisfaction, more division and more violence." READ MORE

'Stephen Reicher: myths of the mob that need busting' Scotsman, 6th September 2011:

"Myth 1: Crowds as "riff-raff": Hippolyte Taine called the crowds of the French revolution "nearly all of the lowest order or working in vile occupations". Thomas Hutchinson called the Boston Tea Party protesters "generally of the very lowest class"... but the evidence says otherwise. READ MORE

Check out Dr Clifford Stott's Facebook page and he will also be on Twitter and tweeting about the book in the run up to it's release @CliffordStott

August 2011: London erupted into some of the worst rioting the city has seen for decades. Shop windows were smashed, buildings were set alight and the police struggled to cope.

In the aftermath, both politicians and the media were been quick to point the finger at a broken society and an immoral underclass but few commentators have produced any evidence to back up their claims. Their opinions are often based on longstanding misconceptions of why people riot and therefore the solutions they propose are unlikely to be effective.

So what have we learnt from the study of past riots? How does this mesh with what we know so far of the present riots and the implications for how we should respond? This e-book, authored by worldwide experts in crowd behaviour, riots and policing, will contextualise what happened during the 2011 London riots and look at a range of responses. Based on extensive experience and research studying crowds and riots around the world, this e-book will challenge the myths of crowd behaviour portrayed in the press, look at how the police and society responded and suggest strategies to help avoid similar events occurring in the future.