For the first time, the laws of human stupidity - a powerful and eternal phenomenon, like a natural phenomenon - are formulated wittily and elegantly. Are there any fools among the Nobel laureates, what is the difference between a fool and a bandit, what is the damage that a fool causes to the common cause, are there many fools in the population, how to recognize and neutralize their “dark power” - the answers to these pressing questions in the excellent work of economic historian Carlo Cipolla .At the same time, “this little book is in no way a product of cynicism or an exercise in defeatism,” for it is full of humor (or sarcasm), is completely scientific and enjoys success with readers around the world. It is also published under one cover for the first time in Russian The essay “Pepper, Wine (and Wool)” is a vivid and very compact analysis of how things that we perceived as familiar and ordinary for a long time played a truly revolutionary role in the history of medieval Europe.