A stevedore on the San Francisco docks in the 1940s, Eric Hoffer wrote philosophical treatises in his spare time while living in the railroad yards. `The True Believer` -- the first and most famous of his books -- was made into a bestseller when President Eisenhower cited it during one of the earliest television press conferences.Completely relevant and essential for understanding the world today, `The True Believer` is a visionary, highly provocative look into the mind of the fanatic and a penetrating study of how an individual becomes one.