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The Invisible Hook

The Hidden Economics of Pirates

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The Invisible Hook

By: Peter T. Leeson
Narrated by: Jeremy Gage
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About this listen

Pack your cutlass and blunderbuss - it's time to go a-pirating! The Invisible Hook takes readers inside the wily world of late 17th- and early 18th-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 50 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.

©2009 Peter T. Leeson (P)2009 Audible, Inc.
18th Century Economic History Economics Modern World Pirate Latin America Socialism Capitalism

Critic Reviews

"Leeson hangs the meat of his pirate tale on a sturdy skeleton of economics.... The Invisible Hook is a delightful read, thanks to Leeson's engaging writing. He reduces a veritable mountain of facts and history into an entertainingly educational experience." (Barron's)

"A brisk, clever new book." (The New Yorker)

All stars
Most relevant  
interesting book, easy to get through. some of the early chapters it felt like he was going over the same things over and over to a point we're I thought my chapters were looping.

good read

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A good look at why pirates acted how they did. Worth a listen. Well spoken

A good listen

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Both entertaining and informative, the Invisible Hook was well paced and a great book for a long drive.I couldn't fault it

Great!

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Some interesting historical tidbits, but way too much shoehorning facts to fit libertarianism. Also things like "why did pirates have fire safety rules", or "why did pirates want to appear scary" turned into elaborate lectures on economic theory - when the answer is patently obvious to normal people.

Eugh libertarian economists

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.