The Essential Rothbard

Here is the book for the Age of Rothbard, precisely the primer that is needed at a time when Murray Rothbard's influence — as the most radical and compelling intellectual force in the second half of the 20th century — runs deeper than during any time in his lifetime.

And so The Essential Rothbard is a landmark: the first rigorous intellectual biography of Rothbard. It takes a candid look at his public and private papers to cover his economic thought, historical method, political ideology, cultural outlook, and social theory, and guides the reader through the whole of his vast output. It even includes a complete (and massive) bibliography.

The beauty of this book consists in its original research — author David Gordon had full access to the private correspondence of his subject — and in its compact, riveting prose.

Those who remember Rothbard's own monograph The Essential von Mises know what an impact that work had. This book does the same for Rothbard, and so it will be useful for students, professors, reading groups, or just the curious multitudes who are anxiously wondering, Who is this Rothbard we keep hearing of, and what did he think?

Gordon begins with his schooling, to show his early influences, and continues through his early career. He discusses how Rothbard slowly built the edifice, a full science of liberty, and how he managed to stay so active in public life as well. He even covers material that is yet to be published, so that the reader knows what Rothbard said about a range of topics that have yet to become part of the published corpus.

There are many Rothbardians, but few are prepared to do what David Gordon has done.