Mises

The Last Knight of Liberalism

By: Jörg Guido Hülsmann

Narrated by: Paul Strikwerda

Here is a magisterial book for today and the ages, one that inspires awe for both the subject and the author who accomplished the seemingly impossible: a sweeping intellectual biography, constructed from original sources, of the 20th century's most astonishing dissident intellectual. It has the apparatus of a great scholarly work but the drama of a classic novel.

Ludwig von Mises' colleagues in Europe called him the "last knight of liberalism" because he was the champion of an ideal of liberty they considered dead and gone in an age of central planning and socialism of all varieties. During his lifetime, they were largely correct. And thus the subtitle of this book. But Mises was not deterred in any respect: not in his scientific work, not in his writing or publishing, and not in his relentless fight against every form of statism.

Born in 1881, he taught in Europe and the Americas during his century, and died in 1978 before the dawn of a new epoch that would validate his life and ideals in the minds of millions of people around the world. The last knight of liberalism triumphed. Jörg Guido Hülsmann, professor of economics at the Université d'Angers, tells the full story of his dramatic and inspiring life and contributions - and in the course of it, provides a reconstruction of the history of the Austrian School of economics of which Mises was the leading expositor, including the entire history of economic thought on the European continent and in the United States during the 20th century.Virtually everything in this book is new, a result of ten years of combing archives in five countries and unprecedented access to the voluminous papers of Mises and those of his colleagues - and written by an author who is a master of the discipline and all the languages involved (German, English, and French). Though the book is huge (1,200 pages), it reads like a great novel, with a fast pace and high drama, which Paul Strikwerda brings alive with his narration.

©2007 Ludwig von Mises Institute (P)2007 Ludwig von Mises Institute

An amazing research woven into an enjoyable bio!

What did you love best about Mises?

I loved learning more about the man and how he became the intellectual genius we know now

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I am still amazed that Mises moved to the US with almost nothing and chose to start over and thrive instead of bemoaning his fate

Ludwig von Mises bio with his ideas

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The completeness of the biography with the completeness of the account of his ideas in this lengthy book.

What about Paul Strikwerda’s performance did you like?

very good performance

If you could give Mises a new subtitle, what would it be?

After 95 years his original warning that socialist economy is impossible and productive of only chaos gathers only more proof.

Any additional comments?

Know your Mises and you'll reject your bastard religion of state-worship.

Glad this exists

I was amazed to find a 31-hour biography of someone so relatively obscure. While the book does not really explore Mises' flaws, and the author is obviously a fan, that is to be expected in a book sponsored by the Mises Institute. Hülsmann is not on a level with the great biographers, but it is still very well done.

The narration is clear through about 1.8x, my only complaint being I am not a fan of accents in quotes during non-fiction books.

Thoroughly educational and Enjoyable Biography

Thoroughly educational and Enjoyable Biography on Ludwig von Mises. I hope to re-read more than once!

A pleasant surprise

I assumed this book would be dry listening but the story is captivating and the writing style is quite enjoyable. The narration is excellent as well. The only caution I would advise is that some knowledge of economics and economic history is required to understand certain parts of the book. Mises was a truly interesting man and a hero for liberty!