Media Coverage
"Pirates, No Leftist Utopians, They." A article by Christopher Shea on the author's book in The Boston Globe.
"Aaaargh-onomics." A piece by Edward Glaeser on the author's book on the Economix/New York Times blog.
"Os Pioneiros da Democracia." An article by Eduardo Pegurier on the the author's book in the Brazilian business magazine EXAME.
"Forget the Parrots and Peglegs, These Pirates Mean Business." An article by Colleen Kearny Rich on author and his book in the George Mason University News.
"Pirates Provide Opportunity for Quirky Study of Economics." A column by Bob Braun on the author and his book in The Star-Ledger.
"The Invisible Hook." A radio show with the author on his book on Wisconsin Public Radio.
"Pirates were Democrats, Says Scholar." An article by Andrew Beatty on the author's research on pirate organization for Agence France Press.
"Paying the Pirate's Price." An article by Veronique de Rugy discussing the author's proposal to privatize the ocean to combat modern pirates and the economics of modern sea banditry in Reason Magazine.
"The Invisible Hook: Pirates of the Caribbean, Our Founding Fathers, and Free Markets." An interview with the author on his book on Pajamas TV.
"Leeson on Pirates and The Invisible Hook." A podcast with Russ Roberts on pirates and the author's book on EconTalk.
Planet Money. A podcast including an interview with the author on the economics of negotiating with pirates on National Public Radio.
"More to Piracy than Maritime Mugging?" An interview with the author on 18th-century pirates, Somali pirates, and his book on Marketplace.
"Q&A with Author Peter Leeson." A Q&A with the author on 18th-century pirates, Somali pirates, and his book in The Hill.
"Who's Afraid of Somali Pirates?" An article by David Herbert discussing the author's views on the economics of the Somali pirate problem in the National Journal.
"Avast, Landlubbers!!! -- Pirates at Reiter's." A picture of the author at a book talk/signing at Reiter's Books on the Reiter's Books blog.
"Between the Covers: Peter Leeson on The Invisible Hook." A podcast interview with John Miller on National Review Online Radio.
"Could Profit Motive Put and End to Piracy?" An article by John Stossel and Andrew Kirell on the author's suggestion that we privatize the seas as a way to combat modern piracy on ABC News.
"Bringing True Romance to the Book Dedication." A piece on the author's marriage proposal to his girlfriend in The Invisible Hook in The Guardian.
"The Reason.TV Talk Show, Episode 16." A video talk show with the author, Nick Gillespie, Michael Moynihan, and David Post discussing historical and cyber pirates on Reason TV.
"The Color of Pirating." An article by the author discussing racial tolerance among early 18th-century pirates on Wonders & Marvels.
"Congressmen or Pirates? Choose Carefully, Me Hearties." An article by Sam Staley that uses the author's book to compare the governance provided by pirate ships vs. the U.S. Congress in Indiana Policy Review.
"The Page 99 Test: The Invisible Hook." The author applies "the page 99 test" to his book ("Open the book to page ninety-nine and read, and the quality of the whole will be revealed to you" --Ford Madox Ford) on The Page 99 Test.
"5 Pirate Myths . . . And the Facts that Belie Them." A piece by the author busting popular pirate myths on the Princeton University Press blog.
"U.S. Chase of Somali Assests Faces Rough Seas." An article by Tabassum Zakaria that considers the author's assessment of Hillary Clinton's proposal to fight piracy by cracking down on those who do business with pirates on Reuters.
"Rational Pirates? The Hidden Economics of History's Most Notorious Criminals." An editorial by the author on the rationality of 18th-century pirates on History News Network.
"Pirate Economics 101." A Q&A with the author on the economics of pirates on the Freakonomics/New York Times blog.
"Peter T. Leeson on the Hidden Economics of Pirates." A video interview with the author about the economics of pirates, the economic crisis, and their intersection on Reason TV.
"A Market Solution to Piracy?" A write-up by Matt Bandyk on the author's strategy for preventing piracy in US News & World Report.
"Peter Leeson . . . Urges U.S. Government to Look to History and Economic Theory to Solve the Piracy Problem in Somalia." A business wire release by Jessica Pellien on the author's views about how to curb Somali piracy on Reuters.
"SEALs Succeed; Now Proceed with Caution." An editorial on dealing with the Somali pirates that references the author's suggestion of privatizing the ocean as a means of preventing piracy in The Orange County Register.
"Want to Prevent Piracy? Privatize the Ocean." An article by the author on how to prevent modern piracy on the National Review blog.
"Captain Freed from Pirates in Daring Rescue." An article by Mark Trumbull and Mark Sappenfield on the savior of Captain Phillips and what it means for the Somali pirate problem that includes some thoughts from the author in The Christian Science Monitor.
"In Defense of Pirates (The Old Time Ones)." An op-ed by the author arguing that 18th-century pirates were early experimenters with some of the modern world's most cherished values and deserve our defense on National Public Radio.
"Talking about Pirates." A post by Veronique de Rugy on The Invisible Hook on the National Review blog.
"How Pirates of Old Really Did the Business." An article by Marc Abrahams on the author's research on Caribbean pirates' profit-maximizing strategies in The Guardian.
"Pete Leeson on Recession and His New Book." A video interview with the author on the economic crisis and The Invisible Hook on the Princeton University Press blog.
"Peter Leeson Author of The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates." An interview with the author about the The Invisible Hook, his thoughts on writing, and other matters in ForeWord Magazine.
"Pete Leeson Proposes an Economic Love Story." A post by Jessica Pellien that discusses and links to a sampling of media coverage of the author's proposal to his girlfriend in The Invisible Hook on the Princeton University Press blog.
"A Written Proposal." A note on the author's marriage proposal to his girlfriend in The Invisible Hook in The Atlanta-Journal Constitution
"A Proposal by the Book." An article by Megan Eckstein on the author's marriage proposal to his girlfriend in The Invisible Hook in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
"Yo, Ho, Ho, and a Bottle of Love." An article by Hyung Lee on the author's marriage proposal to his girlfriend in The Invisible Hook in The Daily Princetonian.
"Princeton U.P. Author Proposes Marriage in Book Acknowledgements." A write-up by Lynn Andriani on the author's marriage proposal to his girlfriend in The Invisible Hook in Publishers Weekly.
"The State of Piracy." A post by Stephen Dubner that points to The Invisible Hook on the Freakonomics/New York Times blog.
"What Would Blackbeard Do? Why Piracy Pays." An interview about rationality and infamous pirate practices with the author in Scientific American.
"Everyone in Favor, Say Yargh!" An article by Joanna Weiss discussing the author's take on the Caribbean pirates in The Boston Globe.
"Adam Smith, Meet Captain Hook: The Upside of Pirate Greed." An op-ed by the author discussing the economic incentives that drive modern pirates on the Princeton University Press blog.
"The Pirates' Code." An article by James Surowiecki discussing the author's research on pirate codes in The New Yorker.
"Arrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!" An article by Brendan Borrell discussing the author's research on pirates' constitutional democracy in Natural History.
"Democrats of the Caribbean." An write-up discussing the author's research on pirate democracy in The Atlantic.
"Three Great Social Contractarians: Hobbes, Locke . . . and Blackbeard?" A post by the author discussing pirates and social contracts on the Freakonomics/New York Times blog.
"The Economics of Piracy (the Real Kind with Peglegs and Pieces of Eight." A post by Stephen Dubner that points to the author's research on the economics of pirates on the Freakonomics/New York Times blog.
"Who are the Outlaws? A Freakonomics Quoum." A quorum the author participated in on modern-day outlaws on the Freakonomics/New York Times blog.
"Can't Keep a Sea Dog Down: Pirates, Then and Now." A post by the author discussing the relationship between 18th- and 21st-century pirates on the Freakonomics/New York Times blog.
"Can You Make an Algorithm Walk the Plank?" An interview with the author on Google's plan to float its data centers in the sea and what this says about businesses' threats from different kinds of pirates on the Freakonomics/New York Times blog.
"Are Pirates the Key to Understanding the World?" A post discussing the author's research on pirate democracy on the Freakonomics/New York Times blog.
"The Rise of Pop Economics." An article by Andrew Kemp mentioning the author's book as part of the burgeoning pop-econ phenomenon from the Institute of Public Affairs.
"Undercover Economist: Criminal Interest." An article by Tim Harford discussing the author's research on pirate organization in The Financial Times.
"The Dread Pirate Jobs." An article by Ken Hunt discussing the author's views on the relationship between 18th-century pirate practices and modern business strategies in The Globe and Mail.
An article by Thomas Dohm discussing the author's research on pirates, which I can't read a word of since it's in Danish, in Science Illustrated.
"Blackbeard Still Lives." An article by Jonathon Gatehouse discussing the author's views on the similarities between 18th- and 21st-century pirates in Maclean's Magazine.
"Pirates Ahoy." An article by Brad Hatch discussing the author's research on pirates and its lessons for modern corporate management in Boss Financial Review.
"Jack Sparrow, Democrat." A post by Carolyn O'Hara discussing the author's research on pirates as part of the "freakonomics" trend on the Foreign Policy blog.
"Profiting from Piracy." An article by Ed Charles discussing the author's views on what pirates can teach us about business and the financial crisis in In the Black.
PUP Description
Pack your cutlass and blunderbuss--it's time to go a-pirating! 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.
Are you brave enough to surrender your booty? Order your copy today.
Reviews
"Peter Leeson . . . offers a fascinating perspective into the world of Blackbeard, 'Black Bart' Roberts and' 'Calico Jack' Rackham in his highly readable book . . . . [A]n engaging portrait of life on the 'floating societies' that existed under the skull-and-crossbones."
"Delightful and instructive . . . . The Invisible Hook is both entertaining and educational."
"[Leeson offers] not only a thumbnail history of piracy but important insights into the economic way of thinking . . . . fascinating, entertaining, and educational."
"[I]n The Invisible Hook, Peter Leeson deftly explodes piratical myths . . . . [The Invisible Hook] offers many colourful, meticulously researched insights into the behaviour of some of history's most colourful anti-heroes, and it will appeal to anyone with even passing interests in history, politics, sociology and/or economics."
"In The Invisible Hook . . . Peter T. Leeson digs into the dollars and cents of piracy. He urges us to see pirates as economic actors, their behavior shaped by incentives, just like the rest of us . . . . When Leeson is done guiding you through the pirate world, life on a rogue ship starts to look less like a Carnival cruise with cutlasses and cannons and more like an ongoing condo association meeting at sea . . . . Peter Leeson’s economical actors have an appeal all their own."
"[Leeson's] engaging account is fun to read and full of humor, qualities not often associated with an explanation of economic theory . . . . This reviewer speculates that if more economic texts were written like this one, there would be a glut of economics majors to compensate for the shortage of pirates roaming the Atlantic."
"Peter T. Leeson has done his part to dispel the pirate myths by using economic theory to explain pirate behavior and organization in his exemplary new book . . . . Mr. Leeson has produced a fresh perspective on an old topic . . . "The Invisible Hook" is quick-paced but thought-provoking. Based on this work, the reader should look forward to more books by the author."
"Leeson says history cannot explain all the piratical paradoxes. Only economics can disentangle the different strands."
--The Age"Leeson's book is . . . entertaining, instructive, and inspiring . . ."
"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."
"Peter Leeson's book is very intriguing--and wickedly clever."
--Wonders & Marvels "[A] jolly good read . . . . delightful and instructive . . . . "The Invisible Hook" is entertaining and educational, and it's certainly timely . . ."
"[A]n engaging and thorough portrait of high seas banditry that goes beyond the pop-culture stereotypes . . ."
Economist Leeson leads readers though a surprisingly entertaining crash course in economics in this study of high seas piracy at the turn of the 18th century . . . . Illustrated with salty tales of pirates both famous and infamous, the book rarely bogs down even when explaining intricate economic concepts, making it a great introduction to both pirate history and economic theory."
"A fresh and provocative take on the Golden Age pirates. Leeson writes with clarity and the depth of his research is impressive."
--Colin Woodard, author of The Republic of Pirates"Peter Leeson has brought the economists' toolkit to the Spanish Main. Piracy is not just a great topic for Walt Disney movies, but also an important economic phenomenon. Leeson's excellent book helps us to understand who pirates were, and why they chose their infamous occupation. He uses economics to make sense of walking-the-plank and the Jolly Roger. This is a fun book, but also a volume rich with insights and analysis."
--Edward Glaeser, Harvard University"Light of touch and truly eloquent, The Invisible Hook is a terrific read on a fascinating topic. This is a beautifully written book."
--Geoffrey Brennan, Duke University and University of North Carolina, Chapel HillA Glimpse Inside
Charybdis herself must have spat them into the sea. They committed “a Crime so odious and horrid in all its Circumstances, that those who have treated on that Subject have been at a loss for Words and Terms to stamp a sufficient Ignominy upon it.” Their contemporaries called them “Sea-monsters,” “Hell-Hounds,” and “Robbers, Opposers and Violators of all Laws, Humane and Divine.” Some believed they were “Devils incarnate.” Others suspected they were “Children of the Wicked One” himself. “Danger lurked in their very Smiles.”
For decades they terrorized the briny deep, inspiring fear in the world’s most powerful governments. The law branded them hostes humani generis—“a sort of People who may be truly called Enemies to Mankind”—and accused them of aiming to “Subvert and Extinguish the Natural and Civil Rights” of humanity. They “declared War against all the World” and waged it in earnest. Motley, murderous, and seemingly maniacal, their mystique is matched only by our fascination with their fantastic way of life. “These Men, whom we term, and not without Reason, the Scandal of human Nature, who were abandoned to all Vice, and lived by Rapine” left a mark on the world that remains nearly three centuries after they left it.
They are the pirates, history’s most notorious criminals, and this is the story of the hidden force that propelled them—the invisible hook.
