The Indispensable Milton Friedman

Collects essays from the economist, providing insights into topics that continue to drive the public debate from health care reform and drug legalization to school vouchers and the economics of John Maynard Keynes.

Milton Friedman is one of the most famous economists in history. His writings and theories on everything from capitalism and freedom to deregulation and welfare have inspired movements, influenced government policies, and changed the course of America’s economic history. Now, acclaimed Friedman biographer Dr. Lanny Ebenstein brings together twenty of Friedman’s greatest essays in his new book, The Indispensable Milton Friedman: Essays on Politics and Economics. The only collection of Friedman’s writings to span his entire career, The Indispensable Milton Friedman: Essays on Politics and Economics features some of Friedman’s never-before-republished writings as well as the best and most timeless of his works. These exceptional essays not only illuminate the progression of Friedman’s thought, but explain how America might overcome some of its most difficult challenges. Broken into two sections, politics and economics, The Indispensable Milton Friedman shows how we can ultimately turn America around, and is more necessary than ever during this critical election year and time of economic uncertainty.

In this book, Robert Leeson and Charles Palm have assembled an amazing collection of Milton Friedman's best works on freedom. Even more amazing is that the selection represents only 1 percent of the 1,500 works by Friedman that Leeson and Palm have put online in a user-friendly format—and an even smaller percentage if you include their archive of Friedman's audio and television recordings, correspondence, and other writings. This book and the larger online collection are sorely needed and very welcome. Milton Friedman deserves to be read in the original by generation after generation. These days, many people channel Friedman to support their own views, which sometimes are quite contrary to his actual views. With so much of it now readily available, everyone will find it easier to remember and learn from what he actually wrote and said. Readers will find the book refreshing whether or not they are already familiar with Friedman's work.

The first biography of one of the twentieth century's greatest economic thinkers, Milton Friedman. Born the son of immigrant parents, Milton Friedman went on to become a major figure during the resurgence of American conservatism. As an advisor to the Reagan administration and a widely read columnist, he played a vital role in shaping government policy and public opinion while he made headlines for his controversial views. Drawing on author Lanny Ebenstein's unprecedented access to personal archives and to Friedman himself, this is the first book to trace his life and development as an economic theorist. With a combination of intimate personal detail and fascinating exploration of economic theory, Milton Friedman: A Biography provides a revealing look at the man regarded by many as a hero of libertarianism and laissez-faire economics.

On his death in the autumn of 2006, Milton Friedman was lauded as “the grandmaster of free-market economic theory in the postwar era” by the New York Times and “the most influential economist of the second half of the 20th century” by the Economist. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1976, Friedman was both a highly respected economist and a prominent public intellectual, the leader of a revolution in economic and political thought that argued robustly in favor of virtues of free markets and laissez-faire policies. Milton Friedman on Economics: Selected Papers collects a variety of Friedman’s papers on topics in economics that were originally published in the Journal of Political Economy. Opening with Friedman’s 1977 Nobel Lecture, the volume spans nearly the whole of his career, incorporating papers from as early as 1948 and as late as 1990. An excellent introduction to Friedman’s economic thought, Milton Friedman will be essential for anyone tracing the course of twentieth-century economics and politics.

This "rich autobiographical and historical panorama" ("Wall Street Journal") provides a memorable and lively account of the lives of the Friedmans: their involvement with world leaders and many of this century's most important public policy issues. 26 photos.

One of the most significant works of economic theory ever written, from the “outstanding [and] unfailingly enlightening” Milton Friedman (Newsweek). One of Time magazine’s All-Time 100 Best Nonfiction Books One of Times Literary Supplement’s 100 Most Influential Books Since the War One of National Review’s 100 Best Nonfiction Books of the Century One of Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s 50 Best Books of the 20th Century How can we benefit from the promise of government while avoiding the threat it poses to individual freedom? In this classic book, Milton Friedman provides the definitive statement of an immensely influential economic philosophy—one in which competitive capitalism serves as both a device for achieving economic freedom and a necessary condition for political freedom. First published in 1962, Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom is one of the most significant works of economic theory ever written. Enduring in its eminence and esteem, it has sold nearly a million copies in English, has been translated into eighteen languages, and continues to inform economic thinking and policymaking around the world. This new edition includes prefaces written by Friedman for both the 1982 and 2002 reissues of the book, as well as a new foreword by Binyamin Appelbaum, lead economics writer for the New York Times editorial board.

This entertaining way to learn economics “will delight and inform anyone who enjoys rigorous thinking and the unexpected conclusions it delivers” (Jamie Whyte, author of Crimes Against Logic). Can you outsmart an economist? Steven Landsburg, acclaimed author of The Armchair Economist and professor of economics, dares you to try. In this whip-smart, entertaining, and entirely unconventional economics primer, he brings together over one hundred puzzles and brain teasers that illustrate the subject’s key concepts and pitfalls. From warm-up exercises to get your brain working, to logic and probability problems, to puzzles covering more complex topics like inferences, strategy, and irrationality, Can You Outsmart an Economist? will show you how to do just that by expanding the way you think about decision making and problem solving. Let the games begin! “Ingenious…enables you to think like an economist without incurring a Keynesian headache or a huge student loan.” —George Gilder, author of Life After Google “Entertaining as well as edifying. Read it, expand your mind, and have fun!” —N. Gregory Mankiw, Robert M. Beren Professor of Economics, Harvard University