I'm looking to get my dad a book for Father's Day, preferably one of a Libertarian nature. He's a lefty, voted Obama, and is retired FBI, but he's open-minded. It's pretty last minute so I'm not going to be able to order anything from LewRockwell.com etc., and when I last looked in my Barnes&Noble, about the only thing they had was Ayn Rand. I'm sure he read Atlas Shrugged or Fountainhead at some point, but I'll go with that if it's all I can find.

Thanks in advance.

The best "libertarian" book I have read in a long time is Against Intellectual Monopoly, but it's not a description of libertarianism, it's an in depth look at intellectual property rules and why they're not a good idea.

Yeah, I've read that, but since it's available for free online, it won't make for a very good gift.

He's a civil war buff (confederate) and I linked him Rothbard's Just War awhile back, never got a response from him though.

I'm thinking of going with:



but not sure if my store will have it.

Unfortunately



isn't available.

I don't know, the real "gift" is bringing the book to their attention, if you ask me. Nobody really cares about the $20.

Must. Wrap. Something.

I got Hamilton's Curse a few weeks ago, but I think I want to read a more general view of the American Revolution before I start reading specific concepts.

?

Maybe you're unaware there's a hardcopy

http://www.amazon.com/Against-Intell...5532765&sr=8-1

I really like all of the DiLorenzo I've read.

Why not just buy the Ron Paul Revolution Manifesto???

Lew's collection of essays in Left/Right/State are good, but they are thick and chewy and you are going to need to peak his interests before he dives in.

Print this out:

http://mises.org/books/whathasgovernmentdone.pdf

Gold-Backed Ties and Aftershave by Aryu A. Soodoenym

Easy to read, good soft intro to some concepts


The Cult of the Presidency: America's Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power
by Gene Healy

I would second what PVN said and just print out "What Has Government Done to Our Money". It's a great starter, its not too long and very accessible.

A few other relatively easy to read things I would suggest are:

Mr Market Miscalculates- Jim Grant
Crash proof- Peter Schiff
(these two truly excellent and are my first tier recommendations)

The Case Against the Fed- Rothbard (pretty sure this is available for free online)
How Capitalism Saved America- Thomas Dilorenzo

If you want to get into dryer, more theoretical stuff, I could go all day and list 10 titles, but off the top of my head those are what I would recommend to the average person who might be curious of the libertarian point of view.

I would strongly recommend against giving him an Ayn Rand book. Her books do not do a very good job at all of making the libertarian view accessible. On the other hand, I think Schiff and Grant's book do an excellent job of that.

You can get What Has Government Done to Our Money for like $6 on amazon, which obviously doesn't help OP since he needs it tomorrow. And I'm pretty sure B&N or Borders won't have it in the store. But anyway, I bought 5 copies and I lend them out all the time (all of them are currently out).

Yeah, they don't. I'll have better luck finding an indie movie in Memphis than a Libertarian book. Thanks for the link though, I am going to print it off and make a book out of it for him which I'm sure he'll appreciate even more. I'm also going to pick up a DiLorenzo and the Ron Paul Manifesto as well. Indoctrination through overwhelming him with mass media, works for the state amirite?

Thanks all.

Meltdown by Thomas Woods or The Politically incorrect guide to the Depression by Robert Murphy have both been getting pretty good reviews, haven't read them myself, but I've ordered both of them and I'm expecting good things

Instead of shoving your political ideas down your Dad's throat, why not get him something he might actually like?

I have actually done the exact same thing. When I last placed an order from the mises.org store a few months ago, I ordered a bunch of copies of The Case Against the Fed, Economics in One Lesson, and a few other titles that were under $10. I've given them out to people who are responsive to things I've said in conversations about politics, and are curious about stuff like this. Their response has generally been extremely positive. Although I spent some cash buying those books, I am actually running a profit since a few of those people have bought me enough dinner and drinks to more than make up for the small cost of those books...

Uh... maybe his dad likes reading and thinking about things?

Maybe he could get his dad both a conventional fathers day gift and a book along these lines? (which is what I did)

FWIW, I got my dad some John Daly golf pants.

http://estore.websitepros.com/195702...%2C/Detail.bok

You been to John Daly's yet? Delicious imo. Though I'd go soon, they prob out of business any day now.

did you add on the matching ball mark repair?

I believe he's in business with the East End Grill people so I think they provided the restaurant-running expertise and he just shows up and eats a whole turkey every once in a while.

That's the worst lookin' pair of pants I ever saw... Gee they should give you a free bowl of soup with every sale.

... But it looks good on you, though

I was reading a review of this in an old "cato letter" think I'll pick it up.


My Dad got the RP book, a bottle of sine qua non rose, a novelty lighter shaped like a remington 870, and a #1 grandpa hat and shirt from my son.

Going slightly ot with the suggestions here but he might be into these two:

Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man