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