Book Hints

A selective mention of books received

New old books, or recent reprints, of interest: LibertyClassics brings us a new edition, with an introduction by Robert Nisbet, of The Servile State, Hilaire Belloc's pessimistic and prescient 1912 discussion of the consequences of overlaying capitalism with socialism (Indianapolis, 1977, 207 pp., $8/$2). The more recent, but not unrelated, Essays on Individuality, edited by Felix Morley, is reprinted by LibertyPress (1977, 380 pp., $8). The book includes 12 essays prepared by Milton Friedman, F.A. Hayek, Richard Weaver, Helmut Schoeck, and others for a 1956 conference addressed to "the problem of man's freedom in the face of modern society's seemingly irresistible urge to socialize and regiment…the individual." In paperback, Rose Wilder Lane's absorbing Give Me Liberty—originally a 1936 Saturday Evening Post article, "Credo"—is reprinted with an introduction by Robert LeFevre (Mansfield, MO: Laura Ingalls Wilder-Rose Wilder Lane Home Assoc., 1977, 53 pp., $2). Long unavailable, Lysander Spooner's Vices Are Not Crimes has also been brought out, with a foreword by Carl Watner and an introduction by Murray Rothbard (Cupertino, CA: TANSTAAFL, 1977, 46 pp., $2.95 paper, qty. discounts). The witty and revealing Confessions of a Monopolist, by Frederic C. Howe, originally published in 1902, is reintroduced by Antony Sutton (Dearborn, MI: Alpine Enterprises, 1977, 157 pp., $5.95 paper). In a "new and improved" edition, illustrated for the first time (by Richard Stein), R.W. Grant has reissued his Tom Smith and His Incredible Bread Machine (Manhattan Beach, CA: Quandary House, 1978, $5.95, qty. discounts).

Recent books that fall broadly into the self-help category: Breaking Into Print: How to Get Your Work Published, by Philip J. Gearing and Evelyn V. Brunson (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1977, $8.95/$3.45). But let the buyer beware—in the section "Polishing Copy," of all places, the authors let slip with: "When your ready to polish your copy…" In Thinking Straight, Antony Flew employs his literate style and humor to steer the reader away from pitfalls in thinking (Buffalo: Prometheus, 1977, $3.95 paper). Sometimes faddishly occult, sometimes flippantly dismissive, Jerome Ellison nevertheless offers some insight and techniques in Life's Second Half: The Pleasures of Aging (Old Greenwich, CT: Devin-Adair, 1978, $8.95). John Richardson, M.D., and Patricia Griffin, R.N., address their Laetrile Case Histories to the ultimate consumer of medical treatment, the patient; while the cases are persuasive, the authors are careful to point out that it is not a statistically clean proof of anything (Westlake Village, CA: American Media, 1977, 309 pp., $5.95 paper). A Manual of Death Education and Simple Burial discusses emotional, legal, and practical aspects of preparing for and dealing with death, with a final section on bequeathal of body and body parts for medical research or transplants (Burnsville, NC: Celo Press, 1977, $2 paper).

A hint of book hints: "A Decentralist Bookshelf," prepared by John McClaughry, lists 82 books and 15 periodicals with strong decentralist themes—useful to have on hand and pass on to interested friends (Concord, VT: lnst. for Liberty and Community, Jan. 1978, available for a self-addressed stamped envelope).