The Essential von Mises

by Jeffrey A. Tucker

A year following the death of Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard wrote the book designed to inspire a new generation to take up the Misesian cause in economic theory and political action. His task was to provide an overview of Mises's writings and place in the social sciences. The essay achieved extraordinary fame. We might even say that "The Essential von Mises," distributed in the form of a mini-book, was more responsible for immortalizing Mises than any other essay ever written.

The Mises Institute is thrilled to be able to bring it back again. It has lost none of its power in the intervening years.

Here it is coupled with an outstanding biographical piece that Rothbard wrote in the 1990s: "Scholar, Creator, Hero." It goes into greater biographical depth, and incorporates many discoveries made over twenty years. The content really serves as an expansion on the first essay rather than an updated form of the same, so it makes sense to have them placed together.

Therefore this book might be called "Rothbard on Mises" but it really serves as the best, short, all-round introduction to Misesian thought to ever appear in print.

It is all the essentials of what you must know about this great man and thinker.

By the way, the cover is extremely cool, though you might not be able to tell it from the small picture. It is actually made from dozens of tiny pictures of Mises, and really constitutes an artistic and technological marvel. You may download a high-resolution version of this cover, here.

March 6, 2009

Jeffrey Tucker [send him mail] is editorial vice president of www.Mises.org.

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