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Update: Now with Audio! Listen to Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch on Boston's WRKO AM 680 at 1:30 PM ET

This, BTW, was one of the greatest games ever

Update (8/21): The audio for this show is up. Go here to listen.

We'll be talking about life, liberty, and The Declaration of Independents with newbie radio host, Boston.com blogger and friend o' Reason Garrett Quinn (pictured in his natural habitat). You can listen live at this link.

Speaking of our book, here are excerpts from a couple of recent blog reviews. First up, Jason T. Kocher:

The book is to some degree Chicken Soup for the Libertarian Soul – a metaphysical construct that has actually been documented, a semi-transparent mass to be sure but a bit more grounded than your average specter...with or without the optional top hat and monocle. [...]

My only real complaint about the book is that it lacks any serious, dedicated discussion of cuts to National Defense. While the subject doesn't fit into the citizen-as-consumer narrative that propels the rest of the book, the omission is nonetheless unfortunate as it may very well lead casual readers to discount the rest of the book, believing the authors are just like traditional conservatives, ready to slash social programs, but not the Military-Industrial Complex. The truth – though not obvious in this book – is that the authors have a strong history of arguing for such cuts in their work with Reason and on television appearances.

That said, The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong With America was a joy to read for this particular libertarian soul and I suspect other Independents, Democrats, Republicans, and even the apolitical would find something surprising, heart-warming and optimistic within its pages.

Did you know that this was the first cover design they showed us? We were all, TOTALLYAnd Josh Harding:

The big question on a book like this:  will it influence others?  I'm doubtful the book will sway partisans from either side of the conservative/liberal dichotomy, not with the authors referring to Iran-Contra as "Ronald Reagan's dress rehearsal for Alzheimer's" and accurately pointing out how President Obama has expanded Bush-era policies.  But partisans are not the target audience.  Independent voters and entrepreneurial citizens are.  For independent voters, this book serves as a good introduction to libertarianism and how the libertarian mindset has some pretty considerable accomplishments under its belt.

Policy wonks already steeped in such things as Chicago or Austrian school economics, marijuana legalization, and other libertarian-leaning causes won't find anything new in the book.  But voters fed up with Washington should find a lot they can cheer about.

Recommended.

The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong with America; by Nick Gillespie & Matt Welch

About this Book

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Events

Reviews

  • "This is the up-to-date statement of libertarianism" - Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution
  • "An enthusiastic, entertaining libertarian critique of American politics" - Kirkus Reviews
  • "Think of it as a political alarm clock" - Amy Alkon, The Advice Goddess
  • More reviews coming soon...

Media

  • May 10: Nick Gillespie talks with Robert Ringer
  • May 25: Nick Gillespie on SE Cupp's "Insider Extreme"
  • June 23: Special episode of Stossel about Declaration
  • More coverage coming soon...

THE AUTHORS

Nick Gillespie is editor in chief of Reason.tv and Reason.com and almost certainly the only journalist who has interviewed bat-eating rock star Ozzy Osbourne and Nobel prize-winning economists Milton Friedman and Vernon Smith.

Matt Welch is editor in chief of Reason magazine. From 2006 to 2007, he served as assistant editorial pages editor at the Los Angeles Times, shaping and writing editorials, and overseeing the section's web operations.

From 2002 to 2006, Welch worked at Reason as an associate editor and media columnist. From 2002 to 2004, he also wrote a regular.