Reason Foundation

Pirating off the Somali Coast has ignited popular interest in pirates and pirating. The modern pirates are motivated largely for economic gain. But, there is a long, rich history of pirating, pirate societies, and pirate management. No book has probably done more to explore these features from an economic perspective than George Mason University Economist Peter Leeson's The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates, just released by Princeton University Press. I highly recommend it as a novel illustration and reader-accessible application of economic and public choice analysis. No mathmatical formulas!