The Triumph of Liberty: A 2,000 Year History Told Through the Lives of Freedom's Greatest Champions [Hardcover]

James Powell (Author), Paul Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 4, 2000

This volume contains the stories of men and women who have overcome great obstacles to give freedom to the world. Through the lives of 65 people, these stories cover the struggle to abolish slavery, stop wars, and overthrow tyrants, as well as the fight for human rights, religious toleration, individualism, the liberation of women and other such freedoms. The entries are based on biographies, diaries and interviews with scholars to provide an instructive narrative.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Jim Powell believes that worthwhile abstract ideas are best promoted by the study of the lives of those who embodied them. In The Triumph of Liberty, Powell, a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute, uses capsule biographies of 65 heroes and heroines as the building blocks for a grand narrative history of liberty, stretching from ancient times to the present. Their stories make clear that liberty begins with an idea: that people are born with a natural right to liberty, the opportunity to pursue one's dream and live in peace.

Powell's list of freedom fighters includes the predictable standard bearers (Thomas Jefferson, Adam Smith, John Locke, Martin Luther King), as well as a few refreshing surprises. Rose Wilder Lane, for example, known to many readers primarily because of her famous pioneer mother, Laura Ingalls Wilder, was one of the most successful freelance writers of the early 20th century. In her writings, she proclaimed the evils of collectivism and advocated natural rights. Friedrich Schiller, the German poet and dramatist, thematically prioritized the importance of freedom in many of his literary works, while Maria Montessori radically declared assisting the individual fulfill their destiny as the purpose of education.

Although Powell exhibits an interdisciplinary perception of freedom (in the forms of literature, music, political science, visual arts, etc.), his perspective remains exclusively Western. Consequently, readers hoping for a broader global examination, including, for example, Ghandi or Cesar Chavez, will find his interpretations limited. Powell's table of contents may also frustrate. Organized conceptually (Natural Rights, Toleration, Peace, Self-Help), rather than chronologically or alphabetically, it fails to assist the reader hoping quickly to locate a particular individual; only his bibliography, located at the back of the book, provides a listing of the individuals portrayed. Nevertheless, Powell's biographies, each six to seven pages, effectively convey to the reader what liberty means and how it is advanced. --Bertina Loeffler Sedlack

From Publishers Weekly

Through 65 pithy, vivid biographical profiles, Powell traces the struggle for freedom from oppression, equality before the law, peace, social justice, toleration of thought, speech and individuality. Along with familiar figures such as Erasmus, Jefferson, Franklin, Locke, Tocqueville, Thoreau and Mencken, he presents liberty-lovers who deserve to be better known, including John Lilburne, an English pamphleteer who attacked taxes, censorship and the notorious Star Chamber; Hugo Grotius, a Dutch antiwar philosopher and father of international law; and Lysander Spooner, a maverick 19th-century American libertarian opponent of military conscription and intrusive big government. Powell, senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute and editor of Laissez-Faire Books, includes inspirational profiles of Raoul Wallenberg, Martin Luther King Jr., Frederick Douglass, Mary Wollstonecraft, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. Among his eclectic, sometimes debatable choices for this motley portrait gallery are psychiatrist Thomas Szasz, opponent of involuntary commitment of mental patients, and anticollectivist novelist Ayn Rand. Equally unpredictable is the roster of creative artists whose works reputedly spread ideals of liberty: Robert Heinlein, western novelist Louis L'Amour, comic-opera whiz William S. Gilbert, Goya, Rabelais, Victor Hugo, Beethoven, Schiller. On balance, though, this stimulating sourcebook is a rousing testament to the belief that one person can make a difference; hopefully, it will inspire readers to go back to the original writings of these trailblazers. (July)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 574 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; First Edition edition (July 4, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068485967X
• ISBN-13: 978-0684859675
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #857,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspiration for an ongoing struggle July 1, 2000

By Henry C. Walther MD

Format:Hardcover

For anyone with an interest in history and an appreciation for the defining struggle of the 20th century (man against state), these vignettes provide both an inspiration and a warning. The inspiration is from the raw courage, conviction, and strength of these people; the warning is that many paid a heavy price and that the struggle for freedom is renewed with every generation. You don't have to be a libertarian or Republican to enjoy this; the context of these struggles is not always strictly poltical per se, but nearly all these men and women had allegiance to, and drew strength from, a higher ideal then man. Raoul Wallenberg's story alone is worth the price.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars finally, a history of triumph July 19, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

I am so tired of being told what we have done wrong. Here, finally, a historian gives us a narrative of human triumph. After all, we know very well that as a group and as individuals we often behave badly, make mistakes, and choose to pursue grubby, greedy goals. But not always. How refreshing it is to find an historian willing to celebrate individuals who have devoted their lives to pursuing noble ambitions. I liked it for the same reasons that I liked Diana Muir's recent Bullough's Pond with its unabashed celebration of the entreprenurial spirit. I won't quibble with the triumphalist tone, this book is frank about its goals and they are what make reading it fun. I will complain only that the sketches are a bit, well, sketchy. I would have found longer, more thoughtful portraits even more compelling, even if they had given us to understand that even these exemplary men and women were complex, had difficulties and sometimes got it wrong. What is important is that this book holds up for our admiration a group of people who devoted their lives to making our world better.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful and moving July 14, 2000

By Jussi Bjorling

Format:Hardcover

The subject matter here simply can't be beat. The biographies are universally well-written and often shed light on people you thought you knew well (for example, the Jefferson profile). Powell has also done us a great service by bringing to light some lesser-known individuals whose actions deserve more attention than they get in the usual history books (e.g. Edward Coke). Everyone will disagree with some of the opinions here, but that is only further evidence of the author's originality.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for everyone interested in liberty June 2, 2012

By Axel Metschies

Format:Hardcover

I've read many books about liberty and this is my favourite! It highlights many men and women that fought for liberty and are almost forgotten today. Have never met so many interesting people in one book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good source for further reading September 21, 2006

By Steve

Format:Hardcover

This book is good for basic information, but the best thing, or things about it are the tidbits of information that lead one to further reading. It is a great source for pointing the reader not only to great thinkers, but also to works by great thinkers worthy of further investigation.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful compilation of inspirational freedom fighters September 18, 2000

By Rick Zuma

Format:Hardcover

This book provides inspirational biographies of some of the major figures that have advanced the cause of liberty. Jim Powell is a masterful storyteller. A senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the senior book reviewer at laissezfaire.org, Powell's years of research help him produce a book that respects the struggle for liberty in the context of the times. This helps to produce a wide-ranging book that transcends sectarian politics.

In this book you'll find the authors of some of the greatest books in history. This is virtually a book of books.

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing and Inspiring May 11, 2011

By alphalupa1

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is one of those rare books that gives you a serious snapshot of history along with interesting anecdotes about the subjects -

I never realized how much each of these people did for the cause of freedom !

Recommend to all and should be assigned reading in HS and college!!

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that exceeds Will Durant's work October 14, 2010

A Kid's Review

Format:Hardcover

Will Durant's "The Story of Philosophy" is an eternal starter for those interested in the history of ideas. Jim Powell's work tops it. What more can be said?