History

Re: Who got to meet Mises, Rothbard, Hayek?

Student — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:38:37 GMT

"HOW DID HE DO THAT?! I don't buy it. I remember Walter Block saying he could write 24 pages a day (ARGH!). If he had an apartment so full of books, writing basically a novel a day. I don't buy, even at 4 hours a day I don't see how it could be done. Or even to have that level of focus for 4 hours. ARGH."

Well, it doesn't mean 24 good pages. :P I don't write nearly that much, and I know I throw away half of what I write.

I mean, if he really wrote 24 pages per day, thats over 6,000 pages per year if he took weekends off. That's probably more than he published in his lifetime. ;) So don't feel that bad.

Re: Who got to meet Mises, Rothbard, Hayek?

Student — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:25:38 GMT

if I ever got to meet Hayek, I would ask him what he thought of Stiglitz extension of his work on information in economics (i think he would be pretty proud).

i would also ask him why he essentially gave up econ halfway through his career

Re: Who got to meet Mises, Rothbard, Hayek?

Jeremiah Dyke — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:53:24 GMT

Whats odd is that Rothbard once said the Ayn Rand depressed him, later when he renewed their friendship he actually told her something to the nature of he felt a humbling awe in her presence.

Re: Who got to meet Mises, Rothbard, Hayek?

ViennaSausage — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:36:26 GMT

GTK! Thanks!

Re: Who got to meet Mises, Rothbard, Hayek?

Jeremiah Dyke — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 23:39:29 GMT

On this, while at Mises University i begged Lew Roockwell and Doug French to survey those who personally knew Murray Rothbard for personal stories and memories befor some of them pass away. The next biographer would be at a loss if such information wasn't collected. I just found out from J Tucker that the Mises Insitute is indeed pursusing this...so happy!!

Re: Who got to meet Mises, Rothbard, Hayek?

I. Ryan — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:42:56 GMT

viresd amin:

http://mises.org/books/memoriam.pdf

Go to Mark Thornton and then to the last paragraph on pg 27 about the man on the street interview.

Does anyone have a copy of that interview?

Re: Who got to meet Mises, Rothbard, Hayek?

viresh amin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:52:28 GMT

http://mises.org/books/memoriam.pdf

Go to Mark Thornton and then to the last paragraph on pg 27 about the man on the street interview.

Re: Who got to meet Mises, Rothbard, Hayek?

Fephisto — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:13:06 GMT

VIRESH! Stop it! Aghhh! Dammit I need to go buy a Hummer or something to compensate.

HOW DID HE DO THAT?! I don't buy it. I remember Walter Block saying he could write 24 pages a day (ARGH!). If he had an apartment so full of books, writing basically a novel a day. I don't buy, even at 4 hours a day I don't see how it could be done. Or even to have that level of focus for 4 hours. ARGH.

Re: Who got to meet Mises, Rothbard, Hayek?

z1235 — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 17:03:50 GMT

Viresh quoting Ebeling:
Roy picked a dust-covered book about ethics from a top shelf, opened it, and began to read aloud. Rothbard not only finished explaining the author's theory, but critically analyzed it and told Roy the other books that needed to be read to fully understand why the author was wrong!

So depressing. I need a beer.

Re: Who got to meet Mises, Rothbard, Hayek?

ViennaSausage — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 16:38:17 GMT

There is always this great talk by Walter block

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtYH77bxeCU

First time seeing this. Great vid!

Re: Who got to meet Mises, Rothbard, Hayek?

viresh amin — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 16:18:04 GMT

Richard Ebeling:

"The late Roy Childs, who was editor of Libertarian Review in the 1970s and long served as book reviewer for the Laissez Faire book catalog, was for many years a close friend of Murray Rothbard's. He told that he was once staying over at Rothbard's New York City apartment. In the living room one day, Roy was slowly reading through a book, while Rothbard sat on a couch across the room rapidly turning the pages of a book he was going through.

Roy asked him how he could absorb what the author was trying to say going through the volume that quickly. Rothbard threw the book across the room and said, "Roy, open it to any page, any page and I'll tell you what he says." Roy randomly opened the book, started reading from a passage, and Rothbard finished it for him. Practically every room in Rothbard's large apartment was lined from floor to ceiling with bookcases. Murray said, "Roy, pick any book, any book off any shelf, open the book to any page and I'll tell you about the author's argument." Roy picked a dust-covered book about ethics from a top shelf, opened it, and began to read aloud. Rothbard not only finished explaining the author's theory, but critically analyzed it and told Roy the other books that needed to be read to fully understand why the author was wrong!"

http://www.fff.org/freedom/0796g.asp

Re: Who got to meet Mises, Rothbard, Hayek?

Sphairon — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 13:43:51 GMT

Given Rothbard's impressive library and daily reading schedule, what are the odds that he was a speed reader?

Re: Who got to meet Mises, Rothbard, Hayek?

Zeo285 — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 12:26:08 GMT

@ Jeremiah

"One of the (very few, perhaps the only) problems I have with the publication output of Murray N. Rothbard is that he never wrote his autobiography." Walter Block

I completely agree.

I did find the book that mike spoke of (or atlest i think it is)

http://mises.org/books/memoriam.pdf

There is always this great talk by Walter block

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtYH77bxeCU

My guess is you've seen them already if so I'll try and source more stuff for ya.

Re: Who got to meet Mises, Rothbard, Hayek?

Mike — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 05:04:53 GMT

@jeremiah

a while back when I was in my rothbard obsession mode, I found, I think on Lew Rockwell, a collection of ulogy type writings by dozens of austrians written after his death. i found it pretty interesting

Re: Who got to meet Mises, Rothbard, Hayek?

viresh amin — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 04:09:59 GMT

Ronald Hamowy on Rothbards productivity:

"Everyone familiar with Rothbard’s writings is aware that he wrote a truly prodigious amount. What is not as well known is that he seems to have totally mastered the literature in those fields in which he had an interest. He had a vast library and unlike the books in my own library, all of Murray’s books had been read, and read with care. All one need do is scan a book out of Murray’s library and he will find marginal comments in Murray’s hands scribbled on each page (”Bull____!,” “Ugh!” “Right on!”, etc.) and that almost every line on every page was underlined. One of the great mysteries for all who knew him, at least at the outset, was where on earth he found the time to turn out the dozens of books, hundreds of articles, and literally thousands of letters he wrote and on top of it to read so much. In addition to have written a massive amount he seemed to have read everything that came within his grasp, newspapers, magazines, journals, newsletters, even flyers and advertisers.

I discovered the answer to this conundrum one day when reading an interview with W. Somerset Maugham, who was asked how he could turn out so many novels and short stories when he partied every evening. His reply was that if he devoted only four hours a day to writing, he’d be able to produce three or four pages each day. That meant, he pointed out, that if he were to keep to that schedule regularly, he could produce no less than 1,000 pages a year! I don’t mean to suggest that Murray’s schedule was the same as was Maugham’s, but he certainly devoted a good part of almost every day to reading and writing and even if he spent his evenings in conversation and otherwise enjoying the company of his friends, that left him each afternoon in which to work, which he did religiously. I don’t recall ever going over to his apartment without finding him in the midst of either reading or writing."