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Peter T. Leeson
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The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates Kindle Edition

by Peter T. Leeson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 294 ratings
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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.

Previous page
  1. ISBN-13
    978-0691137476
  2. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  3. Publisher
    Princeton University Press
  4. Publication date
    March 31, 2009
  5. Language
    English
  6. File size
    2377 KB
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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. Far from being the bloodthirsty fiends portrayed in popular culture, pirates created a harmonious social order; through the application of rational choice theory, the author explains how a common pursuit of individual self-interest led pirates to create self-regulating, democratic societies aboard their ships, complete with checks and balances, more than half a century before the American and French revolutions brought such models to state-level governance. Understanding the profit motive that guided pirates' actions reveals why pirates so cruelly tortured the crews of ships that resisted boarding, yet treated those who surrendered readily with the utmost respect. Both practices worked to minimize costs to the pirate crew by discouraging resistance that could lead to loss of life and limb for pirates and damage to either the pirates' ship or the cargo aboard. 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. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Mr. Leeson's book represents a serious attempt to use the tools of economics to make sense of the institutions of piracy. The book is another example of economic imperialism, the use of economics to make sense of real world phenomena that are outside the standard realm of economic science. It addresses an important force that did, and does, impact world trade. But as the skull and crossbones on its spine suggests, the book is also just fun. . . . [T]he book manages to be entertaining and informative. It is a fun read and provides parents with something to teach their children while looking for pirate treasure left long ago at the beach.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B003SNJESU
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Princeton University Press (March 31, 2009)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 31, 2009
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2377 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 289 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 294 ratings

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Peter T. Leeson

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
294 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Justin E. Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars Peter Leeson's Invisible Hook
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2009
Verified Purchase
What begins as a simple story of Pirates soon turns into an unique journey through Economics and History. Peter Leeson, who is an Economist, uses methodological individualism to analyze the behavior of Pirates as simple profit seekers. This allows Leeson to give a different view of the Pirates then most of us are used to. He also introduces us to many unknown facts about Pirates, who are a common cultural obsession. The secret to his book is the fact that he teaches us both Economics and History without you even realizing it. Books like More Sex is Safer Sex by Steve Landsburg and Freakonomics by Steven Levitt teach you an unconventional way to look at problems, but often not through a classic historical case. This book will do both without you hardly noticing.

The Invisible Hook is not written in a way that is hard for non-Economists to understand. It is written just for that type of audience. This book now ranks top on my list of books to recommend those as an introductory lesson into the economic way of thinking. At the same time, if you do study Economics you will not be bored as the historical mechanism takes over. For example, you may know what signaling is but the economics student likely does not know exactly how the Pirates used the flag, the Jolly Roger, to signal to other ships.

One of the most interesting parts of the book is the very last chapter. Leeson sets up a class in Pirate Management with the professor Blackbeard. Without giving to much away, he goes through and restates points in the book with modern literature. He also provides a very good reading list for those who want to read further into Economics in that chapter. This is the most unique way I have ever seen anyone end a book. It allows Leeson to review the points and restate them in a new light without putting the reader to sleep, as I am famous for skimming through conclusions.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn anything about Pirates or Economics. It is probably likely that most of Leeson's readers will buy the book for the former, but the reader will soon find himself interested in the latter. Dr. Leeson is a rising star in the field of Economics and this is a good way for him to start.
39 people found this helpful
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Gabriel Mitchell
5.0 out of 5 stars I recommend this book to anyone interested in economics, pirates, history or just anyone who wants to expand the way they look
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2017
Verified Purchase
This has easily become one of my all time favorite books. I have a lot of respect for the way in which Leeson approaches the intellectual world. Like all economists, he understands the driving rationality and self interest of human action. However he doesn't hide this approach away in the ivory tower with confusing charts and pointless jargon about macro concepts. Instead Leeson takes these intellectual insights and applies them to things much more interesting. He explores the day to day incentives that pirates faced. He takes seriously the reasons for why they did the things hey did. Awesome stuff! It's both hyper rational and romantic. I recommend this book to anyone interested in economics, pirates, history or just anyone who wants to expand the way they look at the world.
2 people found this helpful
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Joshua Rosenblum
4.0 out of 5 stars Pirates and Liberty
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2010
Verified Purchase
As any reader of GURPS: Swashbucklers knows, the buccaneers of the golden age of piracy were a remarkably enlightened bunch, establishing on their ships a system of egalitarian, democratic civil administration.

Oh, you haven't read GURPS: Swashbucklers?

Well never mind that. What's important to know is that, despite their reputation as blood-thirsty cut-throat savages, life aboard a pirate ship in the Carribean was a damn sight more free and civilized than serving aboard a navy ship or merchantman in the same era.

Pirates operated their ships according to "articles of agreement," deliberated by and signed off by each member of the crew. These "constitutions" governed all aspects of shipboard life and how major decisions concerning the enterprise would be conducted. Pirate captains were elected by their crews and could be removed at any time for any reason. What's more, authority was not centered in the position of captain as it was in the navy or merchant service, but rather power was divided between several officials, probably the most important being the quarter-master (who divided the loot!)

Why did these pirate crews exhibit such modern tendencies toward democracy, separation of powers and equality - many years before actual governments did?

Leeson answers these questions by arguing that there are essentially economic reasons for these behaviours. Pirates were not any more enlightened than anyone else of their time. They were handicapped by all the same human flaws and foibles that everyone else was. What was different was their situation which allowed for different economic calculations.

For example, Leeson argues that the decentralized, egalitarian administration of pirate vessels was due to the "agency problem" in economics. Essentially, because merchant vessels were owned by an "absentee landlord" who was not on site, the ship owner had to rely on the services of an agent who could be relied on to be loyal, as opposed to diverse agents (crew) who would rob him blind. This required the loyal agent to be granted dictatorial power to keep the others in line.

Pirate crews, on the other hand, owned their own vessels. Thus, one pirate stealing would be stealing from his fellow shipmates. Therefore, Leeson argues, a decentralized administration could be much more effective as, essentially the pirates would police each other. This decentralization then further increased "pirate happiness" by reducing the ability of an authority figure to prey on his crew.

The Invisible Hook is a fun an interesting read. Both for its delving into a history not widely known beyond Jack Sparrow films, and for providing an interesting economic explanation for the behaviours of the participants which can be scaled up to provide lessons for society as a whole.
14 people found this helpful
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Ajax
5.0 out of 5 stars The Invisible Hook
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2009
Verified Purchase
This book produces what it promised ... an analysis of pirate behaviours and practices from a fairly pure economic perspective. Leeson writes in a fluent and accessible style and injects about the right amount of historical data. Too little would have made me feel like I ought to have read up on the golden age of piracy in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries before I started on this book. Too much may have made the book drag on a bit. He has chosen the events carefully to support his arguments and keep the interest level from flagging. His research appears to have been comprehensive. Although he is an self-confessed pirate tragic, he keeps the voice he uses in the book clinical enough to be convincing rather than romantic. The pirates were rogues, robbers and driven by greed but not usually gratuitously violent or vicious. It's an informative and entertaining book which I enjoyed.
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Top reviews from other countries

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jimvach
5.0 out of 5 stars Piratical primer on economics and democracy
Reviewed in France on October 28, 2020
Verified Purchase
A fresh look at the economics of piracy... how do economic and democratic ideas express themselves in an extra-legal environment?
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Rev. Andy
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and thought-provoking, if a little thin
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 18, 2020
Verified Purchase
Some fascinating insights into how societies build their rules & behaviours. It does feel like it's been stretched out to fill a book and towards the end it gets a bit preachy about how greed is good rather than letting the evidence speak for itself.
One person found this helpful
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Jonathan Chou
5.0 out of 5 stars Fast efficient delivery
Reviewed in Singapore on September 3, 2020
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Item received in good condition
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Jonathan Chou
5.0 out of 5 stars Fast efficient delivery
Reviewed in Singapore on September 3, 2020
Item received in good condition
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Daniel Garcia
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantástico
Reviewed in Spain on February 16, 2016
Verified Purchase
Leeson reúne aquí varios de sus ensayos sobre la organización de los piratas en el siglo XVII con la idea común que la búsqueda del beneficio privado condujo a resultados sociales deseables en un entorno de auto-regulación, fuera de la ley. Muy bien documentado, destaca sobre todo por la coherencia y originalidad de sus ideas. Fantástico.
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greentwig
5.0 out of 5 stars Eines meiner Lieblingsbücher
Reviewed in Germany on October 25, 2012
Verified Purchase
Dieses Buch ist höchst originell. Es betrachtet ein historisches Phänomen - nämlich das der Piraten um 1790 - aus einem völlig anderen Blickwinkel.
Es zeigt exemplarisch wie sich ökonomische Prinzipen und Demokratie einander bedingen.
Ein ideales Buch für Neu-, Quer- und Andersdenker... und ein optisch wunderschön gemachtes Buch noch dazu.
2 people found this helpful
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