Libertarian Party of Massachusetts

What follows is a short list of books of interest to libertarian activists. They provide thoughtful and entertaining reading for anyone interested in libertarian political action, libertarian ideas or just a few quiet hours with a good book.

• Secrets of Libertarian Persuasion by Michael Cloud

  "Secrets of Libertarian Persuasion may be, simply, the single best book ever written about effective political persuasion. If you want to make America a free nation, you owe it to yourself to read it." Bill Winter

• Why Government Doesn't Work by Harry Browne

  Harry Browne's work, produced during the 1996 Presidential Campaign, provides an easy-to-read explanation of why the Federal Government so often fails at the jobs it undertakes, and what his plan is to return the power and responsibility for solving our nations problems back to the people who can do the most good.

• The Great Libertarian Offer by Harry Browne

  Libertarian Harry Browne shows how we can get from todays oversized, $2 trillion federal government to a libertarian America in which you can live as a free person free to live your life as you think best, not as the politicians want free to raise your children by your values, not as the bureaucrats demand.

• Life Is Not A Rehearsal by David Brudnoy

  David Brudnoy's story of being his own person and calling it as he sees it is fascinating, but what really makes this book is the way he relates the story of his fight with AIDS and the support that he found from friends, family, and his listeners.

• State of Fear by Michael Creighton

  If Crichton is right -- if the scientific evidence for global warming is thin; if the environmental movement, ignoring science, has gone off track; if we live in what he in his Author's Message calls a "State of Fear," a "near-hysterical preoccupation with safety that's at best a waste of resources and a crimp on the human spirit, and at worst an invitation to totalitarianism" -- then his extraordinary new thriller may in time be viewed as a landmark publication, both cautionary and prophetic.

• Investment Biker by Jim Rogers

  Part travelogue, part love story, and part free-market economics text, this book contains the story of Jim Rogers' travels in Asia, Europe, and Africa by motorcycle.

• Dave Barry In Cyberspace by Dave Barry

  Dave Barry, Pulitzer Prize winner and syndicated humorist, is at his best when lampooning technology, the government, and human behavior.

• Penn & Teller's How To Play With Your Food by Jilette, Penn and Teller

  The original written work from this libertarian duo of illusionists contains information and party tricks that everyone can enjoy. Especially noteworthy is "the glowing pickle of death."
  Kids, don't try this at home.
  This book comes with a packet of props for performing some of the illusions.

• Capitalism And Freedom by Milton Friedman

  This is Friedman's classic text on the relationship between economic freedom and personal freedom.

• The Tax Racket: Government Extortion from A to Z by Martin L. Gross

  This handy little volume really does contain 26 examples, A to Z, of government extortion contained in our federal, state, and local tax codes.

• Economics In One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt

  This is another classic libertarian text, which neatly explains the way that prices work and the simple but powerful notion that "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch."

• The Court and the Constitution by Archibald Cox

  In this book, Cox clearly shows the history of the highest court in the land, and how its interpretations of the Constitution have often differed with the understanding that we have today.

• Anything by L. Neil Smith

  especially, Probability Broach, available as a graphic novel for free, or in text version for purchase

  Roswell Texas, a most amusing alternative history novel, with an amazing cast of literary and historical figures, mostly in (sort-of) non-traditional roles, available online in color or as paper in black and white,

  HOPE, written with Arron Zelman from JPFO, particularly appropriate during a presidential campaign season, and features an unfortuneately fictional candidate that is FAR more appealing than anything the current LNC would approve of. It is not available from Amazon or JPFO, or at a reasonable price from alibris.com, so the current link is to a store that has it on ebay.

• Multiple works by Harry Turtledove,

  especially The Case of a Toxic Spell Dump, a parody of government nonsense in a world where all religions are literally true.

• Unintended Consequences by John Ross,

  historical fiction about Gun Control, siding in favor of the Second Amendment, where it is hard to tell where the fact leaves off and the fiction begins.

• For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto by Murray Newton Rothbard

• The Revolution: A Manifesto by Dr. Ron Paul

  based on written notes during his 2008 presidential campaign, promises to cure apathy.

• Multiple works by Dr. Mary Ruwart,

  but especially Healing Our World, ecology without socialism.

  If you are interested in seeing the reason for the fuss about her opinion about children and sex, that can be found in its original context in Short Answers to Tough Questions.

• Multiple works by Dr. George Phillies

  but especially Funding Liberty, a description of past Libertarian presidential campaigns,

  and The MinuteGirls Nice young women who just want some good clean fun with power armor, plenty of high explosives, and a few cute Minuteboys.

• Why Marijuana Should Be Legal by Ed Rosenthal and Steve Kubby

  Rosenthal and Kubby offer crisp, well-reasoned argument for legalizing marijuana.

• The Emperor Wears No Clothes: The Authoritative Historical Record of Cannabis and the Conspiracy Against Marijuana by Jack Herer

  In this thoroughly researched, scrupulously annotated, and shockingly provocative book you'll learn:
  
  * How and why Cannabis prohibition began and what that has meant to America.
  * All the uses of hemp as medicine, food, fuel, fiber, paper, and as a plastic replacement.
  * The straight dope on marijuana smoking and its effect on the human body.
  * Who profits from the prohibition and criminalization of Cannabis.
  * What you can do to speed up legalization and profit from the coming changes.

  Chapters available online, book also available as paper.

This list was updated by Mary-Anne Wolf, who would like to thank shemdogg and Arthur Torrey for their suggestions about the list.