Mises: The Last Knight of Liberalism (Hardcover)

by Jörg Guido Hülsmann (Author)
Key Phrases: banking school, currency school, omnipotent government, Grove City Archive, Mises Archive, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Here is a magisterial book for today and the ages, one that inspires awe for both the subject and the author who accomplished the seemingly impossible: a sweeping intellectual biography, constructed from original sources, of the 20th century's most astonishing dissident intellectual. It has the apparatus of a great scholarly work but the drama of a classic novel.

Ludwig von Mises’s colleagues in Europe called him the “last knight of liberalism” because he was the champion of an ideal of liberty they consider dead and gone in an age of central planning and socialism of all varieties. During his lifetime, they were largely correct. And thus the subtitle of this book.

But he was not deterred in any respect: not in his scientific work, not in his writing or publishing, and not in his relentless fight against every form of statism. Born in 1881, he taught in Europe and the Americas during his century, and died in 1973 before the dawn of a new epoch that would validate his life and ideals in the minds of millions of people around the world. The last knight of liberalism triumphed.

About the Author
Jorg Guido Hulsmann, professor of economics at the University of Paris (Angers), tells the full story of his dramatic and inspiring life and contributions – and in the course of it, provides not only a reconstruction of the history of the Austrian School of economics of which Mises was the leading expositor, and not only of the entire history of economic thought on the Continent and the United States, but also of the political and intellectual history of the 20th century.

Virtually everything in this book is new, a result of ten years of combing archives in five countries but of an unprecedented access to the voluminous Mises’s papers and to those of Mises’s colleagues, written by an author who himself is a master of the discipline and all the  languages involved (German, English, and French). And though the book is huge (1,200 pages) it reads like a great novel, with a fast pace and high drama.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1143 pages
• Publisher: Ludwig von Mises Institute; 1st edition (September 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193355018X
• ISBN-13: 978-1933550183
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #276,383 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book worthy of the man, October 10, 2007

By	Ira Katz (Paris, France) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Great lives make great biographies. If only this were always true. One problem is that many biographies, including very long books, are written about the mediocre, or even the boring (think of politicians). Another problem is that so often a hash is made of the effort to explain an interesting life. I am happy to report that Mises: The Last Knight of Liberalism by Jörg Guido Hülsmann is a great biography of a great life. More precisely, this book tells the story of the great ideas, generated by a great mind, in the context of the life of a very good man, Ludwig von Mises.

To write about this book one must consider readers as two kinds of people; those who have read Human Action and those who have not. For those who have read Mises' magnum opus, Last Knight will hold a special place in their libraries, probably on the shelf next to Human Action. To have read Human Action implies that a person is aware of and understands Austrian economics. Furthermore, the normal response to this effort (it must be admitted that it is not an easy read) is a paradigm shift in thought, if not life. Certainly all aspects of economics and politics are then understood in a fresh light; such that events of the day that were once an incomprehensible blur come into sharp focus, and the myths and lies of the ruling class become as obvious as Pinocchio's nose, or more aptly, the emperor's new clothes. For these people Last Knight quenches the thirst for knowledge about the man, his personality, life, and times. It is also a wonderful history of ideas, depicting the paths to (Menger and Böhm-Bawerk) and from (Hayek and Rothbard) Human Action. I have already seen that this can be a controversial exercise among those who claim to be Austrian economists but well worth the effort. The milieu of teachers, colleagues, and students around Mises, especially in old Vienna (before WWI) and contemporary New York (50s and 60s) are fascinating. Mises really was a man of Vienna, and then late in life, of New York. Readers who already are part of the Austrian school will dream of attending the Mises seminars evoked by Hülsmann. Mises the person is an inspiration through his moral and physical courage, and his persistent and overriding quest for truth. But it must also be admitted that he was a bit of an odd fellow. Mises relationships as husband, son, bother, teacher, friend, colleague, and occasional adversary are interesting to those of us who care so much about his work.

For those who have not read Human Action, Last Knight makes a great primer for the ideas that comprise Austrian economics. All of the key ideas are discussed in a very approachable way that modern readers can readily grasp.

Of course for many a 1000 page primer might be as daunting as the original, but I can attest that it is very readable; I could not put it down. I should say, I had to put it down occasionally to rest my arms because it is a physically big book. However, the production values are excellent (I especially appreciated the attached cloth book mark) making it easy on the eyes, and at a very reasonable price, easy on the wallet. The history of writing and publishing the book is also of interest. The efforts of the publisher, the Ludwig von Mises Institute, are part of the continuing story of Mises' ideas. The saga of Mises' papers alone, Vienna, Berlin, to Moscow, tells much about the history of ideas in the 20th century.

Even the most positive book review must include some criticism. In this case my only quibble is that the book is too short. I still want to know more about Mises the man, his times, and his ideas. I hope to read more from Dr. Hülsmann in the future.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great and very readable work, November 3, 2007

By	Peter van Maanen (Amsterdam, Netherlands) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Reading this book was a pleasure. It is not just that this book is extremely readable, it is also a great work in the history of ideas and as a biography very fitting to the greatest mind of the social sciences, Ludwig von Mises. Maybe that's what makes reading it so exciting: that you come to realize just how much Mises contributed to economics and the social sciences, and with what courage and integrity he did it (in light of the hostile intellectual climate he faced in both Europe and the US).

In addition, I benefited from Hülsmann's discussion of the differences in marginal value theory between the competing schools and of his discussion of Mises's neglected masterpiece Theory and History. Throughout the book, such theoretically heavy topics are explained with remarkable lightness by professor Hülsmann.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Biography of a Great Economist, December 18, 2007

By	Michael A. Wolff (St. Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an outstanding biography of a great economist and philosopher. Ludwig von Mises is the answer to everyone exasperated by the incomprehensible jargon and navel-gazing of modern day economics. His economics of individual action extends beyond economics to the foundation for liberty in society. This biography does a good job (in 1000+ pages) of placing the development of Mises' theories in the context of his times and of distinguishing sometimes subtle differences between similar arguments (such as Hayek on socialist calculation).

Beyond the specifics of Mises's theories, this is a great biography of a genius rejected in his own time, who persevered under crushing adversity and gave life to works that will endure for many lifetimes.

This biography is not a suitable introduction to Mises and his thoughts, although it presents a very good social history of Austria from before WWI to WWII. Better to start with Mises's own works: Liberalism, Theory Of Money & Credit, and Human Action. For anyone familiar with Mises, however, this book is a perfect gift and a must-have.

Liberty is a flickering concept in our world. It can survive as a concept and principle only if understood and defended by individuals. Ludwig von Mises was the greatest advocate for liberty, for he presents a value-neutral argument for the importance of maximum liberty in any society. When the majority of individuals knows who Mises is (if not understands him completely) and when this biography reaches a best-seller list, we can rest assured that individual liberty will be preserved.