Peter Leeson Book order

WTF?! is an interactive tour of the world's weirdest social practices that uses economic thinking to reveal the solid logic behind their seeming senselessness.

Using rational choice theory, the book delves into the advantages of self-governance, highlighting how individuals can effectively manage their own affairs in the absence of centralized authority. Peter T. Leeson examines various historical and contemporary examples to illustrate the benefits of anarchic systems, challenging conventional views on governance and authority. Through insightful analysis, he argues for the potential of decentralized decision-making to foster cooperation and social order.

Takes readers inside the wily world of late seventeenth- and early eighteenth- century pirates. With swashbuckling irreverence and devilish wit, this book uncovers the hidden economics behind pirates' notorious, entertaining, and sometimes downright shocking behavior.

The Invisible Hook takes readers inside the wily world of late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century pirates. With swashbuckling irreverence and devilish wit, Peter Leeson uncovers the hidden economics behind pirates' notorious, entertaining, and sometimes downright shocking behavior. Why did pirates fly flags of Skull & Bones? Why did they create a "pirate code"? Were pirates really ferocious madmen? And what made them so successful? The Invisible Hook uses economics to examine these and other infamous aspects of piracy. Leeson argues that the pirate customs we know and love resulted from pirates responding rationally to prevailing economic conditions in the pursuit of profits. The Invisible Hook looks at legendary pirate captains like Blackbeard, Black Bart Roberts, and Calico Jack Rackam, and shows how pirates' search for plunder led them to pioneer remarkable and forward-thinking practices. Pirates understood the advantages of constitutional democracy--a model they adopted more than fifty years before the United States did so. Pirates also initiated an early system of workers' compensation, regulated drinking and smoking, and in some cases practiced racial tolerance and equality. Leeson contends that pirates exemplified the virtues of vice--their self-seeking interests generated socially desirable effects and their greedy criminality secured social order. Pirates proved that anarchy could be organized. Revealing the democratic and economic forces propelling history's most colorful criminals, The Invisible Hook establishes pirates' trailblazing relevance to the contemporary world."--Publisher description