The free man's library: A Descriptive and Critical Bibliography

About this book

This volume is a descriptive and critical bibliography that maps the literature of individualism, free trade, and personal liberty. The author begins by defining “individualism” in a broad sense and explains his motivation: to counter the modern drift toward statist, socialist, and collectivist assumptions that, in his view, erode true freedom. He traces the work’s lineage from a 1927 pamphlet by Professor W. H. Hutt, noting how he has expanded the original 166 entries to more than 550, adding both classic thinkers such as Locke, Smith, and de Tocqueville and recent titles. The introduction outlines the methodological challenges of selecting works, the decision to include anti‑communist titles with caution, and the balance between comprehensive coverage and consistent judgment. The result is a guide that points readers to seminal and introductory texts alike, while making clear that inclusion does not imply wholesale endorsement of every argument within each work.

Written in a measured, essayistic style characteristic of early‑mid‑20th‑century scholarship, the book reflects Hazlitt’s polemical yet erudite voice. It will appeal to readers who enjoy a thorough, intellectually rigorous survey of libertarian thought, students of political economy, historians of ideas, and anyone seeking a curated pathway through the extensive, often contested, canon of freedom‑advocating literature.

Opening lines

This book is a descriptive and critical bibliography of works on the philosophy of individualism. I have applied the term “individualism” in a broad sense. The bibliography includes books which explain the processes and advantages of free trade, free enterprise and free markets; which recognize the evils of excessive state power; and which champion the cause of individual freedom of worship, speech and thought. …

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