{"product_id":"the-grim-old-days-an-introduction-to-the-preindustrial-past","title":"The Grim Old Days: An Introduction to the Preindustrial Past","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePRE-ORDER NOW! AVAILABLE OCTOBER 20TH.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eThe Grim Old Days\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003eis an in-depth study of life prior to the Industrial Revolution—revealing that the world our preindustrial ancestors inhabited was more gruesome than modern minds can fathom.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eTrying to imagine the preindustrial past might conjure the image of an idyllic country village with pristine air and residents merrily dancing around maypoles. The healthy, peaceful, and prosperous people in this fantasy of pastoral bliss do not realize that their contented, leisurely lives will soon be disrupted by the story’s villain: the dark smokestacks of the Industrial Revolution, what the poet William Blake called “satanic mills.” Yet such rose-colored views of history bear no resemblance to reality.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe preindustrial world was far more gruesome than modern minds can fathom—marked by unthinkable poverty, drudgery, cruelty, and pain. From child abuse and famine-induced cannibalism to bloodletting and streets that doubled as open sewers, ordinary existence was fraught with horrors.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Grim Old Days\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003eindulges the reader’s morbid curiosity about everyday history with firsthand accounts and shocking facts, meticulously researched and laid out in grotesque detail. The book strips away romantic illusions to confront the harsh reality of preindustrial life—one that most people today would not wish upon their worst enemies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABOUT THE\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAUTHOR\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChelsea Follett is a research fellow at the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, working with HumanProgress.org, a project of the Cato Institute that seeks to educate the public on the global improvements in well-being by providing free empirical data on long-term developments. She is the author of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eCenters of Progress: 40 Cities That Changed the World\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"cato-institute","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51505502388260,"sku":"9781969284120","price":25.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0088\/3458\/0516\/files\/Follett_GrimOldDays_Cover_061526.jpg?v=1789681899","url":"https:\/\/store.cato.org\/products\/the-grim-old-days-an-introduction-to-the-preindustrial-past","provider":"Cato Institute","version":"1.0","type":"link"}