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And so, as the great heat swamp of Old London Town finally begins to subside towards the cold dark wetness of autumn, which for some of us is a very great relief, we in England can begin to think of Christmas. Oh yes, we can dream of Yuletide hymns, rich puddings with brandy sauce, and gifts under the evergreen tree of renewed pagan life. And what better a gift idea could there be, for this ancient festival of change, than a brand new book by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr, the current holder of the flame of Herr Hayek, Von Mises, and Murray N. Rothbard? No other gift idea comes close, in my humble opinion. And if you agree, you might want to slip over to the Mises Blog for hot-off-the-press details from the man himself.

Best of all, for intellectual pygmies, such as myself, the book, Speaking of Liberty, apparently comes in at under 500 pages, and is formed from a collection of Rockwell's best speeches integrated into a cohesive whole, to create his personal manifesto on politics and economics.

As I'm trying to cure myself of impulsiveness, I paused for almost a whole nanosecond before deciding whether to attempt to get hold of a copy. And then I read this:

It is not, needless to say, my version of Human Action or Man, Economy, and State! Instead, while based on Mises and Rothbard, it's aimed at just about anyone who seeks to understand the relationship between economics and freedom, and not to be fooled by the media-government complex.

Followed by this:

Mises was the intellectual fountainhead of the modern freedom movement — both here and in Europe — and I've always wanted him to get the credit. It is a great pleasure to explain his life and work and why they matter...Later in the book, I address other thinkers, including Henry Hazlitt, Hans Sennholz, F.A. Hayek, and, of course, the great Murray Rothbard, who had the most direct influence on me.

Sold, to the gentleman in the black slip-on sandals.