This work investigates the place of error in the moral and aesthetic system of Dante's Comedy. It argues that his delight in finely wrought patterns does not exclude an interest in patterns of disorder, and that his pursuit of harmony intensifies his interest in dissonance. The three central chapters of the book each examine a different type of error or anomaly: a mismeasured giant, a self-defeating experiment, an erring citation of Virgil. This account of Dante gives priority to wit and self-irony rather than didactic seriousness.

This book focuses on the origins, evolution, and demise of the Continental Congress, reinterpreting its successes and failures from the perspective of the "new institutionalism." In the process, the book lays open a fascinating historical laboratory for exploring contemporary questions about the nature of political institutions, the strategic incentives those institutions present to those involved, and the outcomes that result.