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krazy kaju Posted: Sat, Dec 12 2009 3:29 PM

Just interested:

What are some books that forum members are considering purchasing from the Mises store?

I'll go first: I was thinking about getting myself History of Money and Banking and Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought by Murray Rothbard.

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I just bought 'Human Action', 'Theory and History', 'The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science', 'Two Essays by Ludwig von Mises', all by.. Mises.  I also picked up 'Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature', 'The Ethics of Liberty' all by Rothbard.  Uh, let's see... and 'Introduction to Austrian Economics' by Thomas Taylor.  Chaos Theory and The Production of Security.   33 Questions,  We Who Dared,  and Politically Incorrect Guide all by Woods.  All in one go.  Next year I might pick up MES.


Around six months ago I picked up "Economics for Real People" and "Economics in One Lesson", "What Has Government Done to Our Money?" and "For a New Liberty", "American's Great Depression", "Let's Abolish Government", "Democracy: The God That Failed", "The Myth of National Defense", "The Nature of Man and His Government", and finally, "Antitrust Policy".

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Beefheart replied on Sat, Dec 12 2009 3:40 PM

Those are both fantastic books. It would certainly be in your interest to add them to your library.

 

It was my birthday last Sunday, so I got a heap of paper-and-ink. I'm going to buy the following:

 

  1. The Bastiat Collection
  2. Human Action
  3. Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market
  4. For a New Liberty
  5. Commerce and Government Considered in Their Mutual Relationship by Abbe de Condillac
  6. Crisis and Leviathan by Robert Higgs
  7. Depression, War, and Cold War by Robert Higgs
  8. Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles by Jesús Huerta de Soto
  9. Democracy: The God That Failed by Hans-Hermann Hoppe
  10. The Private Production of Defense by Hans-Hermann Hoppe
  11. Against Intellectual Property by Stephan Kinsella
  12. Denationalisation of Money: The Argument Refined by Friedrich von Hayek

 

I'm also getting some stuff outside Mises (Smith, Ricardo, Malthus, Kant, Heidegger, Feuerbach, as well as The Not So Wild, Wild West: Property Rights on the Frontier by Terry L. Anderson and Peter J. Hill). I'm getting some more books for Christmas and then I'm just going to go into my room and not come out for months.

EDIT: Might as well share what books I'm getting for Christmas.

  1. The Machinery of Freedom by David Friedman
  2. Nation, State, and Economy by Ludwig von Mises
  3. The Myth of National Defense by Hans-Hermann Hoppe
  4. The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money by John Maynard Keynes
  5. The Failure of the New Economics by Henry Hazlitt
  6. The Socialist Tradition by Alexander Gray
  7. Theory and History by Ludwig von Mises
  8. Socialism by Ludwig von Mises
  9. Antitrust and Monopoly: Anatomy of a Policy Failure by Dominick Armentano
  10. Vampire Economy: Doing Business Under Fascism by Gunter Reimann
  11. The State by Franz Oppenheimer

My personal Anarcho-Capitalist flag. The symbol in the center stands for "harmony" and "protection"-- I'm hoping to illustrate the bond between order/justice and anarchy.

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krazy kaju:
I was thinking about getting myself History of Money and Banking and Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought by Murray Rothbard.

Both very good books. History of Money and Banking has a great introduction by Salerno in which he explains thymology, something I think isn't really talked about much.

I just actually got Rothbard vs the Philosophers which I think just came out and a print version of The Costs of War because it is really something you should have in book form.

'Men do not change, they unmask themselves' - Germaine de Stael

 

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in order of what i want first and then...

1.  Human Action

2.  Man, Economy, and State

3.  Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought (might read on-line, but the other two I definitely want to have in the library I'm growing)

4.  I want to get some Robert Higgs books.  He seems to be right down my alley.  Any of his that I might want to put at the top of my Higgs list?

---

all something i might be able to get after christmas

"Do not put out the fire of the spirit." 1The 5:19
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Laughing Man:

Rothbard vs the Philosophers

That one sounds real good.  anybody read it yet, aside from it just coming out?

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wilderness:
That one sounds real good.  anybody read it yet, aside from it just coming out?

If no one tells you how it is by the time I am done reading it, I will be sure to do such.

'Men do not change, they unmask themselves' - Germaine de Stael

 

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cool

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Angurse replied on Sat, Dec 12 2009 3:56 PM

wilderness:

4.  I want to get some Robert Higgs books.  He seems to be right down my alley.  Any of his that I might want to put at the top of my Higgs list?

They are all great in my opinion, I'd put Crisis and Leviathan at the top though.

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Esuric replied on Sat, Dec 12 2009 3:59 PM

The books I've bought:

  • Prices and Production and other works -Hayek
  • The Theory of Money and Credit -Mises
  • Mystery of Banking -Rothbard
  • Capital and its Structure -Lachmann
  • Economics in one lesson -Hazlitt
  • Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle and Other Essays -Haberler, Mises, Rothbard, Hayek
  • The Positive Theory of Capital -Bohm-Bawerk
  • Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles -De Soto
  • The Anti-Capitalist Mentality -Mises
  • Human Action -Mises
  • Individualism and Economic Order -Hayek
  • Interest and Prices -Wicksell
  • The Road to Serfdom -Hayek

I'm thinking about buying Man, Economy and State, and History of Economic Thought Before Smith.

"If we wish to preserve a free society, it is essential that we recognize that the desirability of a particular object is not sufficient justification for the use of coercion."

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Angurse:

Crisis and Leviathan at the top though.

excellent.  thanks.

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Giant_Joe replied on Sat, Dec 12 2009 4:08 PM

Related books I have:

  • End the Fed - Ron Paul
  • PIG to the Great Depression - Bob Murphy
  • Meltdown - Tom Woods
  • Human Action - Ludwig von Mises

Next on the list:

  • Economics in one Lesson - Henry Hazlit
  • Man, Economy, State - Murry Rothbard

As soon as I'm not tragically poor, I'll get more books and continue buying and reading. Two other things I want is a membership to the LvMI and the "Enemy of the State" flask. :)

EDIT: I'm not really tragically poor, case you were wondering. :p

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Thanks for all of your input, guys. My entire Mises store library consists of How Capitalism Saved America by DiLorenzo, Human Action and Socialism by Mises, and Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles by de Soto. I figured the two Rothbard books I mentioned in the OP would be a good next step in terms of my education.

Anyone else want to share what books they currently have and/or what books they plan on buying?

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krazy kaju:

 

I'll go first: I was thinking about getting myself History of Money and Banking...

I bought this book, I believe, about a month ago.  One of the clearest books on economic history I have ever partially read.  Today, I actually bought three books: Hayek's Contra Keynes and Cambridge, Antoine Murphy's Richard Cantillon and Hayek's Prices and Production.

In the near future, I will probably buy Lachman's Capital and Production.

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Beefheart replied on Sat, Dec 12 2009 6:56 PM

krazy kaju:
Anyone else want to share what books they currently have and/or what books they plan on buying?

My current Austrian library (I have a bunch of non-Austrian stuff too, but whatever):

 

  1. The Law by Frederic Bastiat
  2. Capital and Interest by Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk
  3. The Positive Theory of Capital by Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk
  4. Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt
  5. The Roosevelt Myth by John T. Flynn
  6. Prices and Production by Friedrich von Hayek
  7. The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich von Hayek
  8. Individualism and Economic Order by Friedrich von Hayek
  9. Principles of Economics by Carl Menger
  10. The Theory of Money and Credit by Ludwig von Mises
  11. Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth by Ludwig von Mises
  12. The Panic of 1819: Reactions and Policies by Murray N. Rothbard
  13. America's Great Depression by Murray N. Rothbard
  14. What Has Government Done to Our Money?/The Case for the 100% Gold Dollar by Murray N. Rothbard
  15. The Ethics of Liberty by Murray N. Rothbard
  16. Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought by Murray N. Rothbard
  17. History of Money and Banking in the United States by Murray N. Rothbard
  18. Treatise on Political Economy by Jean-Baptiste Say
  19. Let's Abolish Government by Lysander Spooner

My personal Anarcho-Capitalist flag. The symbol in the center stands for "harmony" and "protection"-- I'm hoping to illustrate the bond between order/justice and anarchy.

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Esuric replied on Sat, Dec 12 2009 6:59 PM

Jonathan M. F. Catalán:
Hayek's Contra Keynes and Cambridge,

Great book, but it's included in Prices and Production and Other works.

"If we wish to preserve a free society, it is essential that we recognize that the desirability of a particular object is not sufficient justification for the use of coercion."

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Esuric:

 

Great book, but it's included in Prices and Production and Other works.

It includes Sraffa's criticism of Prices and Production?  If so, I should see if I can cancel that order.

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Esuric replied on Sat, Dec 12 2009 7:18 PM

Jonathan M. F. Catalán:
It includes Sraffa's criticism of Prices and Production?  If so, I should see if I can cancel that order.

No.I confused Contra-Keynes and Cambridge with something else. Either way, it's a great book and very entertaining.

Sraffra's critique is very good by the way. He's really the only one, along with Khaldor, who's ever really put ABCT in question. Austrians still have to respond to him.

"If we wish to preserve a free society, it is essential that we recognize that the desirability of a particular object is not sufficient justification for the use of coercion."

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Esuric:
Sraffra's critique is very good by the way. He's really the only one, along with Khaldor, who's ever really put ABCT in question. Austrians still have to respond to him.

will this do ?

Reflections on Reswitching and Roundaboutness

 

Where there is no property there is no justice; a proposition as certain as any demonstration in Euclid

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ziragt replied on Sat, Dec 12 2009 7:57 PM

Esuric:
Sraffra's critique is very good by the way. He's really the only one, along with Khaldor, who's ever really put ABCT in question. Austrians still have to respond to him.

Actually, Lachmann has an article on the debate betwen Hayek and Sraffa, called "Austrian economics under fire." I'm not sure if he addresses all of Sraffa's points, but he shows the very different background assumptions the two were operating under, as well as criticizing Sraffa's whole theoretical perspective.

As for other books, Rothbard's Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought is really a must read. It's on the same level as MES, at least.

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Esuric:

Sraffra's critique is very good by the way. He's really the only one, along with Khaldor, who's ever really put ABCT in question. Austrians still have to respond to him.

I've only heard of Sraffa recently (largely thanks to Student), which drove my interest in continuing my education on capital theory (to better understand Sraffa's arguments), but I started to re-read some of the books I already own.  Apart from the examples provided above, Huerta de Soto deals with Sraffa, although it's only over a few pages (and actually suggests that Sraffa's contentions [in regards to reswitching] underscore Austrian theory, as oppose to debunk it).  I also have seen these two articles by Robert Murphy:

http://mises.org/daily/1486

and

http://mises.org/article.aspx?record=1148&month=52

 

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Esuric replied on Sat, Dec 12 2009 8:16 PM

nirgrahamUK:

Thanks.

"If we wish to preserve a free society, it is essential that we recognize that the desirability of a particular object is not sufficient justification for the use of coercion."

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Eric replied on Sat, Dec 12 2009 8:18 PM

I have a question. Is there a good economics book that is more difficult than MES, but less difficult than Prices and Production?

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MB replied on Mon, Dec 14 2009 10:15 AM
krazy kaju:

What are some books that forum members are considering purchasing from the Mises store?

A whole bunch.

I've taken to using the wish list to keep track of several of the books I want to get next.  There are a lot of smaller works that look pretty interesting.  I've been slowly getting the works of Mises (not quite there yet), and am thinking about also getting stuff from Hayak (so far only have Fatal Conceit, Road to Serfdom & Constitution of Liberty).

some of the works on my list:

  • Intro to Austrian Economics
  •  Intro to Economic Reasoning
  • Shorter Classics of Bohm-Bawerk
  • Free Market Reader & Free Market Syllabus (2 by Greaves)
  • Rothbard vs the Philosophers
  • Origin of Money
  • Praxeology & Understanding
  • Early Speculative Bubbles

 

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jtucker replied on Mon, Dec 14 2009 10:30 AM

I just signed contracts for LIBERTARIAN FORUM complete, in hardback, to sell at a much lower price than the current softcover. All good.

Publisher, Laissez-Faire Books

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Le Master replied on Mon, Dec 14 2009 11:23 AM

jtucker:

I just signed contracts for LIBERTARIAN FORUM complete, in hardback, to sell at a much lower price than the current softcover. All good.

I've been meaning to buy that for weeks but kept getting busy and forgetting. I'm really glad now. Looking forward to this hardback edition.

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MB replied on Mon, Dec 14 2009 12:09 PM

Well, as I have the complete Libertarian Forum in paperback, I'm not interested in that.  :)

Personally, I don't care for hardbacks.  To me, they aren't necessary better then paperbacks, and the cost difference puts me off.  I could use the price difference to buy more books.  I'll buy them if I have no choice (book will only be out in hardback).

While I love that the Institute is doing so much publishing, I would prefer they make everything in paperback.  If you want to make some things ALSO in hardback, that's fine, but don't like it when something is ONLY available in hardback.  Also, have mixed feelings for the recent small paperbacks you've done.  The size almost seems too small.  Most of the small monograph/pamphlets I have are a little larger then that.  But if the work is not available elsewhere, I'll probably keep getting them.

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jtucker replied on Mon, Dec 14 2009 12:14 PM

It's always a hard choice but within the last month, we found a company that can do hardbacks for less than we pay for paperbacks.

So already we are plotting a switch on a number of titles

  • Our Enemy, The State, Nock
  • Rise and Fall of Society, Chodorov

we'll see about more.

I mean, if we can sell them for less, why not?

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MB replied on Mon, Dec 14 2009 12:16 PM

This may be the wrong thread to ask this, but I'm not sure where (other then to start a new thread).

In reading over the early Austrians, there is one that seems to be overlooked, Friedrich von Wieser, who was Bohm-Bawerk's brother-in-law.  His works are out of print.  Not sure how important he (and his works are).  Has he written anything of interest that it might be reprinted?

 

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jtucker replied on Mon, Dec 14 2009 12:42 PM

Wieser was unsound on value. We have his works on the site but in print? hmmm

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jtucker:
Wieser was unsound on value.

True that. I tried to read Wieser as I was so curious to read about his theories of imputation, and the pricing of factors of production. But the first things I read from him, though I quite appreciated his writing *style*, struck me as so fallacious on value that it undermined my efforts to read him (especially when I have so much else to study!)

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I was astounded that you guys were able to get Alexander Gray's works The Socialist Tradition and Development of Economic Doctrine. I actually got first editions of those but any idea when you are going to start selling The Socialist Tradition. That is certainly a book everyone should have.


Oh and any word about Ralph Raico's book on liberalism? I really want to read that sucker.

'Men do not change, they unmask themselves' - Germaine de Stael

 

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Beefheart replied on Mon, Dec 14 2009 3:54 PM

Any word on when or if Reisman's Capitalism will see a price drop? Because, I mean... damn that thing is expensive.

My personal Anarcho-Capitalist flag. The symbol in the center stands for "harmony" and "protection"-- I'm hoping to illustrate the bond between order/justice and anarchy.

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Reisman's Capitalism is also a very long treatise which shouldn't be read by the beginner who isn't willing to cough up $100 for an econ book.

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Le Master replied on Mon, Dec 14 2009 4:03 PM

Laughing Man:
I actually got first editions of those but any idea when you are going to start selling The Socialist Tradition. That is certainly a book everyone should have.

I've actually been dying to get that since you've been mentioning it in various posts, LM.

I'm trying to compile a Christmas list right now and this thread is pretty helpful. I'll post it when I'm finished.

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Le Master:
I've actually been dying to get that since you've been mentioning it in various posts, LM.

I have now heard Rothbard and Ralph Raico say it is probably the best written book on Socialism. I outstandingly agree.

'Men do not change, they unmask themselves' - Germaine de Stael

 

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Beefheart replied on Mon, Dec 14 2009 4:46 PM

krazy kaju:

Reisman's Capitalism is also a very long treatise which shouldn't be read by the beginner who isn't willing to cough up $100 for an econ book.

Fair enough.

My personal Anarcho-Capitalist flag. The symbol in the center stands for "harmony" and "protection"-- I'm hoping to illustrate the bond between order/justice and anarchy.

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LUCHAC replied on Mon, Dec 14 2009 8:14 PM

How about novels. I just read The Driver and it was great. Does anybody know of other great novelists like Garret and Rand?

Thanks.


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Beefheart:

Any word on when or if Reisman's Capitalism will see a price drop? Because, I mean... damn that thing is expensive.

Definitely worth the $95 I paid for it.  It's also like twice as big as any other book I have (Human Action included), so you get your "bang for the buck".

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jtucker replied on Mon, Dec 14 2009 8:52 PM

He wrote three more! all are amazing. All of them.

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