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New and Notable
Alan Shrugged, by Jerome Tuccille
An engaging, very readable biography of one of the most powerful men in the world today by a libertarian financier and writer. Insights span Greenspan's life to date, and won't disappoint individuals wondering about "the Ayn Rand years." Great gift book.
from Laissez Faire Books, $27.95.
Entrepreneurial Economics, edited by Alexander Tabarrok
"Going to the barricades for efficiency" in a thorough, thought-provoking way. Seven general areas are explored in fourteen chapters, including gene insurance, decision markets, justice, bankruptcy, and urban transit. Contributors include David Friedman, Adrian Moore, and Steven Landsburg. Scholarly, yet accessible; stimulating and practical too.Infowar in Cyberspace, by Bruce Gold
An intriguing, thorough examination of the Information Age and the internet's influence on it, focusing on research. Very good book marred by numerous typographical and grammatical errors.Global Warming, by Jane S. Shaw
The first in a series of "critical thinking about environmental issues" books, Shaw patiently and calmly looks at all sides of the global warming issue, separating fact from hype and teaching important ideas about evaluating science and the scientific process along the way. Intended for high school students, it's a solid introduction and overview of global warming for any interested layperson. Order one for yourself and one for your local library.The Way Back Machine: December freedom celebrations
December is well known for celebrations -- Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, St. Lucia Day, Christmas, New Year's Eve. (Myself, I like to celebrate Newton's birthday -- December 25, coincidentally.) Did you know there are several freedom-related events to celebrate in December? Here's a small sampling: Paul Revere's birth, the Boston Tea Party, the first tax protest, and Rose Wilder Lane's birth.
No, that's not a mistake up there. The Boston Tea Party was not the first tax protest. The first happened on December 12, 1673, in a place called Lawnes Creek Parish Church, VA. What's even more remarkable is that the protestors met despite the dictatorial attitudes of the governor (here's an interesting account -- scroll down to the section headed "RESEARCH"). Our ancestors would surely be shocked to learn of the levels of taxation so many Americans meekly submit to today ...
Fast forward now to the late 1800s; Rose Wilder Lane was born then, on December 5. A journalist, she went on to write a slim volume in a self-described "white heat" that she later called a "very bad book." Perhaps you've heard of her book, or maybe even read it yourself: The Discovery of Freedom: Man's Struggle Against Authority.
My best friend gave me a copy of The Discovery of Freedom when I was a fledgling libertarian. It enchanted me, mesmerized me, galvanized me. It changed my life. I still cry when I recall reading it for the first time and feeling the power of her masterpiece sweep through me. Lane understood and communicated the need for freedom better than anyone else whose words I've read. She captured the spirit of our forefathers, those daring tax rebels, and so much more ...
These are dark days for freedom, and the horizon isn't looking much brighter. Perhaps the best thing we can do this month is celebrate freedom by taking our own steps to throw off the shackles of the state, and to share "Rose's bad book" with others. This is the book that "speaks to those better elements in our humanity while also celebrating freedom."
from Laissez Faire Books, $14.95 paperback (also available in hardcover and audiocassette)
Voting update for Freedom Book of the Year 2002
It's encouraging to see that so many of you aren't so turned off by the electoral process that you won't cast a vote for anything. Freedom Book of the Year 2002 voting has been open for almost a month, and is doing a brisk business (good thing we don't need poll workers or UN observers to keep the peace! ;-).
So far, Vin Suprynowicz's mighty pen is leading, with Gene Callahan's scholarly, accessible tome trotting just behind. Henderson, Bussjaeger, and Boston T. Party are in a comfortable pack, poised to make a move if a frontrunner should falter. Oh, wait -- this isn't a horse race, it's an election. Should I even be telling you how the balloting stands?
Well, the voting is fairly tight so far, and I think it's fun to be able to cheer on the many deserving books in the field (and to encourage your friends and colleagues to cast their votes too). I didn't promise not to look at the voting until the polls close (which is January 31, 2003) either. If you haven't voted yet, why not hop over and vote for your best book of 2002? It's free, fun, and you'll be entered to win one of five great book prize packages worth up to $250 from Laissez Faire Books.
Keep doing freedom, happy holidays, and best wishes for a freer 2003,
Sunni
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edited by Sunni Maravillosa
November 2002: The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science by Ludwig von Mises
October 2002: The Haunted Air by F. Paul Wilson
September 2002: Lead Astray and Out of Bounds, Out of Control by Peter Samuel and James V. DeLong respectively
August 2002: Boston's Gun Bible II by Boston T. Party
July 2002: Economics for Real People by Gene Callahan
June 2002: Net Assets by Carl Bussjaeger
May 2002: The Ballad of Carl Drega by Vin Suprynowicz
April 2002: Toward Liberty: The Idea that is Changing the World edited by David Boaz
March 2002: Liberty for Women edited by Wendy McElroy
February 2002: The State vs. the People by Aaron Zelman and Claire Wolfe
Freedom Book of the Year, 2001: Hope by Aaron Zelman and L. Neil Smith.
January 2002: Death by Gun Control by Aaron Zelman and Richard W. Stevens
December 2001: The American Zone by L. Neil Smith
November 2001: Ayn Rand and Business by Donna Greiner and Theodore Kinni
October 2001: Junk Science Judo by Steven J. Milloy
September 2001: Jonathan Gullible by Ken Schoolland
August 2001: Hope by L. Neil Smith and Aaron Zelman
July 2001: Dissenting Electorate edited by Wendy McElroy and Carl Watner
June 2001: Tethered Citizens by Sheldon Richman
May 2001: Lever Action by L. Neil Smith
April 2001: The Cato Handbook for Congressfrom the Cato Institute
March 2001: The Contested Legacy of Ayn Rand by David Kelley
February 2001: Crypto by Steven Levy
January 2001: Total Freedom by Chris Matthew Sciabarra
Freedom Book of the Year 2000: Forge of the Elders by L. Neil Smith
December 2000: The Mystery of Capital by Hernando de Soto
November 2000: Escape from Leviathan by J.C. Lester
October 2000: The Art of Political War by David Horowitz
September 2000: An Enemy of the State by Justin Raimondo
August 2000: The Triumph of Liberty by Jim Powell
July 2000: A Generation Divided by Rebecca Klatch
June 2000: Law's Order by David Friedman
May 2000: Forge of the Elders by L. Neil Smith
April 2000: Reciprocia by Richard G. Rieben
March 2000: The Art of Fiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers by Ayn Rand
February 2000: Addiction is a Choice by Jeffrey A. Schaler
January 2000: Revolutionary Language by David C. Calderwood
Special December 1999 Feature: The Freedom Book of the Year: Send in the Waco Killers: Essays on the Freedom Movement, 1993-1998 by Vin Suprynowicz
November 1999: Conquests and Cultures by Thomas Sowell
October 1999: A Way To Be Free by Robert LeFevre, edited by Wendy McElroy
September 1999: Assassins (Left Behind) by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
August 1999: Don't Shoot the Bastards (Yet): 101 More Ways to Salvage Freedom by Claire Wolfe
July 1999: The Mitzvah by L. Neil Smith and Aaron Zelman
June 1999: The Incredible Bread Machine by R.W. Grant
May 1999: Send in the Waco Killers by Vin Suprynowicz
April 1999: It Still Begins with Ayn Rand by Jerome Tuccille
March 1999: The Dictionary of Free-Market Economics by Fred Foldvary
February 1999: Feminist Interpretations of Ayn Rand edited by Mimi Reisel Gladstein and Chris Matthew Sciabarra
In December 2004 this page was modified significantly from its original form for archiving purposes.
, founded in 1995, is now a part of ISIL.
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