{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/0147517605?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"0147517605","authors":["Robert Evans"],"book_id":"9780147517609","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780147517609","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780147517609.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","description":"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. 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","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9780147517609","publication_date":"20160809","publisher":"Penguin Publishing Group","slug":"a-brief-history-of-vice","subtitle":"How Bad Behavior Built Civilization","title":"A Brief History of Vice"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"HIS039000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Civilizations","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HUM008000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Adult Humor","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"SOC041000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Social Science Essays","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}],"hint":[],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"HIS039000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Civilizations","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HUM008000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Adult Humor","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"SOC041000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Social Science Essays","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Civilizations","score":1,"slug":"civilizations"},{"label":"Adult Humor","score":1,"slug":"adult-humor"},{"label":"Social Science Essays","score":1,"slug":"social-science-essays"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy Civilizations","Good for readers interested in essays","Good for fans of History"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Andrew Solomon","Simon & Schuster Audio"],"book_id":"9781476795041","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781476795041.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":10.097,"title":"Far and Away","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781476795041"},{"authors":["Wendell Berry","Nick Offerman","Recorded Books","& 0 more"],"book_id":"9781619025998","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781619025998.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":10.0904,"title":"The Unsettling of America","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781619025998"},{"authors":["Annalee Newitz"],"book_id":"9780393882452","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780393882452.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":9.3524,"title":"Four Lost Cities","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780393882452"},{"authors":["Binyavanga Wainaina","Achal Prabhala","Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie","& 0 more"],"book_id":"9780812989663","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780812989663.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":9.2602,"title":"How to Write About Africa","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780812989663"},{"authors":["Michel Foucault","Robert Hurley"],"book_id":"9780679724698","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780679724698.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":8.4231,"title":"The History of Sexuality","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780679724698"},{"authors":["Neil MacGregor"],"book_id":"9780670022700","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780670022700.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":8.3071,"title":"A History of the World in 100 Objects","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780670022700"},{"authors":["J. 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