Review by Steven J. DiFiore II (authors note, "I took this journey into the mind of a madman so you don't have to")

"The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race"

The opening sentence of an essay by mathematician turned murderer, Ted Kaczynski, is a bold one and sets the tone for what is certainly one of the most interesting essays I've read in quite a while. Generally one would recoil at the mention of the "Unabomber," yet despite this, Industrial Society and Its Future, at 35,000 words, is a surprisingly easy read due to its plain language and a disarming idiosyncratic flair. Kaczynski outlines the fundamentals of a social-political ideology unlike anything in the current zeitgeist. His homily to Neo-Luddism is observant, well researched, and even prescient in some regards. His even-keel delivery is made all the more shocking as it belies the heinous crimes for which he is now imprisoned. The essay is a reflection of a man who personifies the blurry line between genius and madness.

Kaczynski's contention with modernity centers around something he terms "The Power Process" and the ways in which the industrial-technological system and modern society disrupts this process. While his concept of the power process seems a bit contrived, it is nonetheless an interesting perspective. Kaczynki's theory is certainly NOT libertarian. However, neither is it liberal, nor conservative, nor leftist, nor even right-wing. It's altogether different and singular in its focus. With a wide menu of topics, observations, and conclusions, there is certainly a lot to digest with this essay, particularly in the wider context of the times in which it was written. However, don't mistake fascination with advocacy. In his philosophy the author advocates for violence and in his life, he committed wicked acts of violence in a twisted effort to further said philosophy. With that clarification in place, I would certainly recommend reading it, especially if discussions of political philosophies, controversial ideas, and sad ironies are something that appeal to you.

Review by Olivia Broadway, Queen City Freedom Fellowship

Many consider The Bitcoin Standard to be the "Bible" for Bitcoin, and I can see why. The majority of the book is actually focused on the history of money and what makes money valuable, which is really important to understand if you are going to understand the case for Bitcoin. Ammous' writing style is engaging, and his love of Austrian Economics comes through loud and clear, which I appreciated. He takes aim at both Keynesians and Monetarists, since both see a role for the State in regulating the money supply, albeit to different degrees. As I read, I realized how little I actually knew about the history of money; such things as sea shells, glass beads, and heavy stones had been used in various civilizations, which had subsequently suffered economic catastrophes with the inflation of their money supplies when someone figured out how to easily make/find more of the "money."

The book doesn't get into the tactics of how to actually buy and store Bitcoin, but it does present a compelling case for Bitcoin as the best money we have, particularly from the "store of value" perspective. A money's "store of value" is largely based on its stock to flow ratio (stock = existing supply; flow = new amount created). The harder it is to create new amounts of the money, the higher the stock to flow ratio, and the more likely the money will be a good store of value. This is how gold became the standard across the globe for millennia. And this is why Ammous argues that Bitcoin could be "the best store of value humanity has ever invented."

This was a fantastic book that I found to be an easy read, explaining concepts in layman’s terms, while not losing the substance of the argument. I highly recommend this book for both the interesting history as well as the introduction to the case for Bitcoin.

Review by Olivia Broadway, Queen City Freedom Fellowship

Economics in One Lesson is a libertarian classic. Though the title may lead you to believe it to be a dry book of economic theory, the book is anything but that. Hazlitt begins the book by presenting the reader with "the lesson" in chapter 1, and he spends the rest of the book explaining how the lesson applies to real situations. He does this in layman’s terms, using examples most of us can relate to, without jargon or complicated graphs, so it is easy to read and understand.

What is this lesson? The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups. Hazlitt encourages us to think longer term and more broadly about the downstream impact of our decisions. For example, who really benefits from tariffs? Sure, the protected company or industry benefit in the short term, but what about everyone else? Hazlitt points out that tariffs hurt our exporters, and they make "the industries in which we are comparatively inefficient larger, and the industries in which we are comparatively efficient smaller…In the long run, [a tariff] always reduces real wages, because it reduces efficiency, production and wealth." The chapter on inflation also stood out as a timely reminder of the disastrous effects of an increase in the supply of money.

Economics in One Lesson was originally penned in 1961 and updated in 1978. The effects of our economic policy decisions were predicted decades, if not centuries, ago. Indeed, there seems to be nothing new under the sun. I highly recommend this book to anyone trying to understand what is going on in our economy. This lesson is still as true today as it was in 1961.