The Road to Serfdom by F. A. Hayek (1944) –“This book looks at the importance of economic freedom in relation to all other freedoms. Originally published in 1944—when Eleanor Roosevelt supported the efforts of Stalin, and Albert Einstein subscribed lock, stock, and barrel to the socialist program—The Road to Serfdom was seen as heretical for its passionate warning against the dangers of state control over the means of production. For F. A. Hayek, the collectivist idea of empowering government with increasing economic control would lead not to a utopia but to the horrors of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Margaret Thatcher kept a copy of this book in her handbag. Ronald Reagan said it influenced his economic philosophy. Dissidents in Communist Eastern Europe surreptitiously passed paperback prints amongst themselves before the Berlin Wall came down.”
The Story of Liberty by Charles C. Coffin (1879)— “This is not America’s story alone. It belongs to all those who are enjoying freedom and liberty in any part of the world. As we reach back into the records of history to observe the hand of the Great Author of all liberty, we will find direction for the days ahead and discover the keys we need to understand and interpret the future. As we look at that which preceded our nation’s history and led to its founding, we will begin to have an idea of what liberty cost those who love the truth and how much still is at stake. We cannot neglect the present and hope to enjoy in the future the blessings of the past. Liberty was purchased by Christian courage, self-sacrifice, and unceasing vigilance. Only by these virtues can we hope to keep it. We must, by God’s grace, be as determined to protect our liberties as our forefathers were to win them. ‘Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.'” (Gal. 5:1 KJV).”
The Boys of ’76 by Charles C. Coffin (1873) –This is a marvelous history of the American Revolution “giving a record of the bravery of those who laid their all on the altar of sacrifice– * So you will know what our liberty has cost and what it will take to keep it! HISTORICALLY ACCURATE statements and actions of Revolutionary War participants.”
The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes (2007)—A great book written by a conservative giving a different view of the Great Depression era and the resulting growth of government.
How Should We Then Live? by Francis Schaeffer (1976)—A perspective of the moral decline of Western Civilization and how we are called to cope with the changes.
The Christian Manifesto by Francis Schaeffer (1981)— This book discusses why morality and freedom have crumbled in our society and when civil disobedience is appropriate?
The American Republic by Orestes A Brownson (1866)—“Brownson discusses America in the context of (1) what is a “nation”; (2) what is a “constitution”, both written and unwritten; (3) the relationship between the individual and the nation; (4) the relationship between the states and the federal government; and (5) the place of God in thinking about politics.”
Government is the Problem by Robert B Carleson (2010)-How the Ronald Reagan Administration took on and reformed welfare.
