Nineteen-eighty-four by George Orwell
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Human Action by Ludwig von Mises
Power and Market by Murray Rothbard
Rational Anarchy by Richard and Ernestine Perkins
The Philosophy of Ownership by Robert LeFevre
How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World by Harry Brown

If I were adding in another ten (including some later published) titles:

No Treason: The Constitution of No Authority by Lysander Spooner
For A New Liberty by Murray Rothbard
The Virtue of Selfishness by Ayn Rand
Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal by Ayn Rand
The True Believer by Eric Hoffer
The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris
The New Libertarian Manifesto by Samuel Edward Konkin III
The Probability Broach by L. Neil Smith
The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis
The Great Explosion by Eric Frank Russell

(cackle) Sez you. And it didn’t even take you a whole book to make a “confused mess” of it, which only make it easier to laugh you off, sonny.

The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible by Ken Schoolland. It’s what first got me interested in both libertarianism and eventually Austrian Economics as well.

Rothbard needs to be on the list–MES or ToL or FaNL–pick two or three. I would also add some Hoppe–I liked Democracy: TGtF quite a bit.

I’d balance the list with some shorter works. Bastiat’s The Law and Spooner’s No Treason are good suggestions.

I freely admit to having some trouble understanding her standing in libertarian circles. Many thinking libertarians with a lot going for them still admire her thought. Their expositions are often more reasonable than her own. But why saddle their thinking with hers? It reminds me of Baptist ministers’ wives who think they look better plastered with seven layers of make-up. Wash it off.

I attribute this unfortunate fixation to her place in their intellectual development. I didn’t need Rand to think my way out of anti-capitalism or theism or what-have-you, so I’ve never felt beholden to her. Others were not as lucky as I. They read Rand before they thought through the issues. Oops.

I recognize that I share politics with her. But I don’t share a moral philosophy with her. Her cheapjack egoism is a confused mess. Is it good packaging? Well, it got a lot of people to rethink liberty. But it prevents a whole lot of others from accepting liberty. Instead of seeing liberty as an ideal compromise, Rand concedes their point (sort of), seeing liberty as an expression of self-interest, however allegedly “rational.” People who understand something about the real workings of empathy know that “rational self-interest” is an inadequate ground to morality. They may not understand much else, but this intuition is indeed correct. Rand gets in the way.

OH: final addition — Garet Garrett’s “The People’s Pottage” would probably get a vote from me over many of the other popularizing books. Its prose sings, and his discussion of empire is practical and not just theoretical.

So… is it that you read all her non-fiction and didn’t let that slip, or that you didn’t, and don’t know what you’re talking about?

A better (and much more libertarian) Hayek book than either of those on the list is Hayek’s Law, Legislation, and Liberty.

But I wouldn’t want to take God of the Machine off the list; that book really electrified me when I read it in college, and it remains (despite my many disagreements with Paterson) one of my favourite libertarian books to this day.

However, I have read a few of the books listed here and would highly recommend them all, as follows:
- The Road to Serfdom: This is a good book that makes some great points.
- Atlas Shrugged: This is without exception one of the best books I have ever read, which is not to say that it is perfect, but on the whole it is a timeless argument for laissez-faire capitalism and against governmental, socialistic, or communistic intervention. This is a must read for anyone interested in liberty, commerce or society.
- Human Action: I am working my way through the Scholar’s Edition, published by the Mises Institute and I must say that this book is well undervalued both in price and its popularity. Indeed, as I read through the book, it appears as though Mises has not wasted a word…the placement and use of the language is exception, which helps drive home his unique perspective. The book is long – long – but I am finding it to be worth every page.
- Capitalism & Freedom: I happen to really enjoy Friedman’s writings, so I heartily endorse this book as well. I know that Friedman is not always recognized on par with Mises, Hayek and others in the Austrian School, if for no other reason than he is not an Austrian. Regardless, Friedman has made some strong arguments for free-markets, capitalism and liberty, many of which he has seen implemented in his lifetime for the betterment of the world around us. I once saw an interview where he stated: “I am a libertarian with a lower case ‘l’, and a Republican with an upper case ‘R’”. I think Friedman, although not an Austrian, was/is certainly a libertarian at heart.
- The Fountainhead – I have read this one as well, actually prior to reading Atlas Shrugged. The two novels do not really compare and it would be unfair to each work to do so. Where Atlas Shrugged addresses primary issues of capitalism and the forces against it, The Fountainhead is painted on a smaller canvas – think of the difference between Macro- and Micro-economics for a comparison in scale. I happen to enjoy architecture, a major theme of the book, and I thought the novel was very well written. I can associate with Howard Roarke’s stubborn streak and his principles upon which he lives his life – often in stark contrast to the world and people around him. I think the book in some ways does relate to individual liberties, so it is not completely off base having been included on the list.

Those are the only books on the list that I have read, so I’ll have to investigate some of these other titles.

I did notice one other poster who suggested George Reisman’s Capitalism. I could not agree more! Capitalism, by Reisman, is a sweeping, pro-capitalist treatise that highlights the rational for capitalism, while often pointing out the fallacy of the counter-arguments on a case-by-case basis. This too, should be a book in the library of everyone interested in understanding (from a rational basis) the world we live in.

RDM

Anarchy, State & Utopia by Nozick
The Machinery of Freedom by D. Friedman
The Libertarian Idea by Jan Narveson

But to those, I’d add:

Atlas Shrugged
Human Action
The Fatal Conceit (Hayek’s most readable book, I think)
The Ethics of Liberty
The State by de Jasay
The Law by Bastiat
and because I’m stuck for a 10th book, Liberty and Nature by Rasmussen and Den Uyl, just for their notion of rights as “meta-normative” principles.

Atlas Shrugged
The Road To Serfdom
Human Actions

And would add

For A New Liberty by M.Rothbard
The State by A.de Jasay
A Theory Of Socialism And Capitalism by H.H.Hoppe
The Machinery Of Freedom by D. Friedman
No Treason by Lysander Spooner
The Superstriction Of The State by Leo Tolstoy