For Eggheads Only
Submitted by John B on Mon, 09/14/2009 - 04:58
Which books would be of interest to friends of liberty? Any that made you say, "Wow!" or, "Why didn't I think of that"? Here are my favorites, not to say I agreed with everything or even understood everything.
1) "Fountainhead" by Rand
2) "Human Action" by Mises
3) "Constitution of Liberty" by Hayek
4) "The Open Society and Its Enemies" by Popper
5) "The Logic of Scientific Discovery" by Popper
6) "Albion's Seed" by Fischer"
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ahh nice
while I was trying to make a funny with the Humpty Dumpty bit I'm not joking at all when I say for science fiction, "Dune" written by Frank Herbert would be my top choice followed by a few others that are also totally awesome. I won't mention the others however because they didn't have the profound effect towards liberty that Dune did
"The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin" - Mark Twain
The Dean of Science Fiction
Not to forget the very first Grand Master, Robert Anson Heinlein:
Starship Troopers
Red Planet
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
also, while I'm at it...
The Machine Stops by E M Forster
We by Yevgeny Zamiatin
Yertle the Turtle by Theodore Seuss Geisel
and any of the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
TANSTAAFL
LXXI BC: Ego sum Spartacus // MDCCCLVII: I am Dred Scott // MCMVL: Ich bin Anne Frank // MMX: Je suis Assange // MMXI: Ik ben von NotHaus
Fellow Eggheads...
Humpty Dumpty would obviously be my starting choice
Standing up is scary if you think you're gonna fall
Like a Humpty Dumpty, 'fraid of falling off the wall -ABBA
The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin - Mark Twain
Popper
was a communist.
He knew nothing about liberty, except how to subvert it.
On the contrary,
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/popper/
"The Open Society and Its Enemies" is a devastating refutation of totalitarianism of all kinds written in WWII. He was a friend of Hayek and a friend of freedom.
The above from Standford University is a good article about him and his ideas.
He was a Marxist in his teenage years but soon gave it up to become a critic. He lived into his nineties.
Letters of Ayn Rand by Leonard Piekoff
I love Ayn's novels, but the book that I have most book marked, dog eared, highlighted and marked up with pencil, blue and black ink is, "Letters of Ayn Rand". The letters are an assortment spanning 4 decades, revealing the relationships with her family from Russia, famous people like Frank L. Wright, who drew up plans for a house for her, Alan Greenspan, who she tells, "You don't know what capitalism is", and Murrey Rothbard, she declares an enemy. She explains to fans her meaning in her novels, which Anthem and "Capitalism who needs it" are the two she suggested to her fans.
The Federalists Papers
UN Agenda 21 ($25.00)
Roberts Rules of Order
The Damnest Finest Ruins, Dessantro Story about the CA earthquake.. SF was the richest city in the world, 37 national banks filled with GOLD. It is an amazing story of how 100 years ago, the greatest city on earth, turned into rubble and ashes because of ignorance, greed, corruption, government and military, and the book makes you realize, out of the ashes emerged a new city that 100 years later, the vast majority of Americans have no clue, of what was only there 100 years ago.
WE ARE GOING TO WIN!
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Another vote for Bastiat's "The Law"
Short, crystal clear and profound, beautiful for all, not just the eggheads.
For a heavier work, how about "The Road to Serfdom" by von Hayek?
Sorry, but lose Ayn Rand unless preaching to the converted.
Yes to Bastiat!
Rand has influenced millions. I don't have to agree with her to acknowledge her influence
Start reading the "Fountainhead" or "Atlas Shrugged" as a liberal or socialist and there's a good chance you'll come out something else. At the risk of upsetting her admirers, she's like a good laxative to clean out the system.
Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged are novels
Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead are not that great. John Gaults speach so Sooooooooo long I don't believe most folks get past it. Most liberals don't get past the rape in The Fountainhead. The novie was so "hollywood", it's boring by comparison to movies of it's time.
As you know, I'm a huge fan of Ayn Rand, an Objectivist, and I think those who promote her novels are blow hards who try to look smart by saying "Ayn Rand" the way a neocon tries to look conservatives by saying Ron Paul. Thank you for t he post and opportunity to share.
Have a nice posting day.
WE ARE GOING TO WIN!
___.---.___
.' ( ) '.
) /)' '( )
',_( ';-;'\_,'
|-|
(")
Agreed!
Short, sweet, and to the point!
Agreed
Rand, although right on many issues, is very militant on many issues.
For example it is tough to sell people on the "love doesn't exist" philosophy.
Also I recommend von Hayek as drhifive did above. His writing really got me thinking - like marketplace derived currency - now thats true freedom
www.Umake.it - The online resource for the Hand Made Society
"The Law" by Bastiat
"The Law" by Bastiat
The Law BY Bastiat would be my choice , as well.
-I favor extending to Israel the same honest friendship that Jefferson and the Founding Fathers urged us to offer to all nations. ...This means I also favor discontinuing foreign aid to governments that are actual or potential enemies of Israel,--Ron Paul
But that man should play the tyrant over God, and find Him a better man than himself, is astonishing drama indeed!~~D. Sayers
There is no difference between an authoritarian government from the right or the left...F. A.Schaeffer
Anthem
by Ayn Rand. A quick novella that can be devoured in an afternoon.
The Secret Destiny of
The Secret Destiny of America - Manly P Hall
read for free here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/9852381/Manly-P-Hall-The-Secret-De...
"Oh, foolish man, what can you not be made to believe?" - Adam Weishaupt
www.cuttingthroughthematrix.com
"One man with courage is a majority." ~ Andrew Jackson
Emerson's Self-Reliance
Thoreau's Civil Disobedience!
A few good ones
1. Warning to the West by Alexander Solzhenisyn
2. The Gulag Archipelago by Alexander Solzhenisyn
3. The creature from jekyll island
4. Revolution- a manifesto (Ron Paul)
5. Crossing the Rubicon by Michael Ruppert (about 911)