Would you leave your guilt/innocence on a criminal matter to a test of plunging your arm into boiling hot water? What about to a test of ingesting poison from a “magical” tree spirit? Would you suggest to a friend or acquaintance with whom you have a disagreement consulting a poisoned chicken to resolve your dispute? Would you ever consider auctioning your spouse to the highest bidder? (Ok, this one is cheating because anyone who’s ever been married, at one point or another, already has—but can you imagine happily and willingly being offered as a spouse at such an auction?) I could go on, but you get the gist. With Peter Leeson as your tour guide, you’ll equip yourself with rational choice theory and “travel” (safely, for the most part, within the museum) to diverse times and places and encounter these and many more examples of wildly bizarre and seemingly senseless practices.
Throughout the tour, you’ll laugh at the tour guide’s vivid interactions and frequent bickering with the distinctive patrons, perhaps secretly cheer for the tour guide in his seemingly doomed attempts at openly flirting with a certain special visitor, and, at times, maybe even wish you could punch certain fictional-ish characters in the face. This tour entertains like no other. This book also exquisitely enlightens like no other. By the end of this tour, you will have learned about times and places where such practices not only existed, but were unquestionably conventional. The eccentric tour guide will moreover show you that, at these times and places, such practices were not merely sanctioned lunacy, but were undeniably sensible and even productive for those who engaged in them. In fact, you might even leave the tour with the conviction that, had you fully encountered the same limitations, found yourself in the same surroundings, shared the same beliefs, and had hoped to prove your innocence (assuming you were, indeed, innocent), you would likely have deliberately and willingly plunged your arm into boiling hot water (had you found yourself in medieval Europe) or ingested poison from a “magical” tree (had you found yourself instead in modern Liberia). I cannot recommend this book enough!
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Reviews with images
interesting, but odd & far fetched
This book didn't lie when it said it was odd. I did enjoy reading it, but some of the claims were far fetched, even when supported with sources, I felt that the author was taking only part of the source that he wanted and not using the whole picture / all the facts when they might not support his entire argument.The book was fun to read and follow, especially with an economics twist. I definitely learned some things but they will be hard to share with how outlandish they are.
Top reviews from other countries
WJ
This book was even more light-hearted and fun to read than I expected
Reviewed in Canada on July 11, 2018
Gu Si Fang
Why did these weird customs exist?
Reviewed in France on November 4, 2017