
A Brief History of Vice
How Bad Behavior Built Civilization
Penguin Publishing Group · Print & ebook · August 9, 2016
A celebration of the brave, drunken pioneers who built our civilization one seemingly bad decision at a time, A Brief History of Vice explores a side of the past that mainstream history books prefer to hide.
We earn from qualifying purchases.
- Who it’s for
- A playful guide to how bad behavior gets woven into civilized life.
- Genres
- Social History, Humorous History, How Cultures Work
- Published
- Penguin Publishing Group, August 9, 2016
Nearest books
Matched by what the books are about, then ordered by what their readers also loved.
Stupid WarsEd Strosser, Michael Prince50% match
Big VapeJamie Ducharme46% match
PathogenesisJonathan Kennedy51% match
A History of the World in 6 GlassesTom Standage56% matchShares Social History
The Alcoholic RepublicW.J. Rorabaugh, William J. Rorabaugh60% matchShares Social History
For younger readers: Big Lies, How to Build a Human, Unstoppable US, Volume 2: Why the World Isn't Fair
Start with three books, and this one can be the first.
Members get a new edition every morning: a route out from their books to essays, research and talks, with the reason for each.
Start with this bookAbout this book
A celebration of the brave, drunken pioneers who built our civilization one seemingly bad decision at a time, A Brief History of Vice explores a side of the past that mainstream history books prefer to hide. History has never been more fun—or more intoxicating. Guns, germs, and steel might have transformed us from hunter-gatherers into modern man, but booze, sex, trash talk, and tripping built our civilization.
Continue reading
Cracked editor Robert Evans brings his signature dogged research and lively insight to uncover the many and magnificent ways vice has influenced history, from the prostitute-turned-empress who scored a major victory for women’s rights to the beer that helped create—and destroy—South America's first empire. And Evans goes deeper than simply writing about ancient debauchery; he recreates some of history's most enjoyable (and most painful) vices and includes guides so you can follow along at home. You’ll learn how to: • Trip like a Greek philosopher. • Rave like your Stone Age ancestors. • Get drunk like a Sumerian. • Smoke a nose pipe like a pre–Columbian Native American. “Mixing science, humor, and grossly irresponsible self-experimentation, Evans paints a vivid picture of how bad habits built the world we know and love.”—David Wong, author of John Dies at the End
Vice, Explained
A playful guide to how bad behavior gets woven into civilized life.
Come here for
- history with a wink
- essay-driven cultural explanations
Expect
- humor threaded through history
- insight without the lecture
Where it sits
| Social History | 45% |
|---|---|
| Humorous History | 40% |
| How Cultures Work | 36% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Civilizations
- Adult Humor
- Social Science Essays
- Authors
- Robert Evans
- Publisher
- Penguin Publishing Group
- Published
- August 9, 2016
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Reading lane
- Civilizations