Tuesday, January 15, 2013

What Should Free Men Read?

Rather than a statement, opinion, or an observation, I have a question. Most of the reason why I blog is to seek out new information, ideas and understanding. It is undeniably true that a republic, a true republic made up of free men, requires that it's citizens be informed. When I say informed I do not refer to the ability to access news, rather, I refer to writings, works, essays and letters that should be considered absolutely mandatory reading.  So to everyone out there who reads, stumbled upon, likes, dislikes this blog, or simply has an opinion. What should a person, if he wishes to think of himself as a free man of the republic, absolutely must read? You can respond in post of your own if you have a blog, the comments, or my email listed on my profile.
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10 comments:

  1. UnknownJanuary 15, 2013 at 3:10 PM

    Actually, I've been wanting to know what texts I should be reading so I become a truly free man! I read publications like The American Conservative and Taki's Magazine on a regular basis and have Pat Buchanan's book "Churchill, Hitler and The Unnecessary War" right on my shelf just waiting to be read. I'm also trying to read as much economics material whether it a macroeconomics textbook to the works of say Friedrich Hayek or Ludwig von Mises!

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    1. Cogitans IuvenisJanuary 15, 2013 at 3:20 PM

      I think reading up as much on economics as possible is very important. I think one of the problems our republic suffers today is enforced ignorance. It is truly disconcerting to see our society actively try and supress information that is considered un-pc. There are plenty of bloggers that I read regularly whose ideas I find uncomfortable at times. Perhaps some the more notable bloggers on the manosphere and libertarian/conservative cricles should create something like khan academy on how to be a free man.

      What I hope to get out of this is a list, either I can post it, or someone else, it doesn't matter who, that we can all point to someone who is just leaving allegorical cave and say, read those.

      Delete
  2. TimJanuary 15, 2013 at 4:39 PM

    I've got book reviews for all the books that I've read since starting my blog 6 months ago: http://spootville.blogspot.com/p/book-reviews.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 15, 2013 at 5:05 PM

    This is one of the benefits of Amazon. I use Amazon more to find new books to read rather than actually buying anything.

    There tools to show you related materials has found me a great many books that I otherwise wouldn't have discovered. After that it's a search on the local libraries database to see which branch I can get it at.

    I'll be back later to post a mini-list of books I'd recommend.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJanuary 16, 2013 at 6:05 AM

    Here's a few newer books that I think would be a benefit to anyone who was trying to improve themselves. These books, in my opinion, carry more than just the stories within them but also a greater expansion of ideas. Just a few

    -Freakonomics
    -No More Mr. Nice Guy--Robert Glover
    -Choices Under Fire: Moral dimensions of world war 2--Michael Bess
    -Travels with Charley; In search of America--John Steinbeck
    -All Quiet on the Western Front--Erich Maria Remarque
    -The Peasant Prince: and the age of revolution--Alex Storozynski
    -Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It)--William Poundstone
    -Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics--Henry Hazlitt
    -About Face: Odyssey Of An American Warrior--David Hackworth
    -War: Ends and Means--Angelo Codevilla

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    1. Cogitans IuvenisJanuary 16, 2013 at 7:40 AM

      That's a good list most of those I have not read, so that means I will have to go and read them.

      Delete
  5. ADilettanteJanuary 16, 2013 at 12:17 PM

    -The Will to Power, by Fredrick Nietzsche
    -The True Believer, by Eric Hoffer
    -The Hour of Decision, by Oswald Spengler
    -The Decline of the West, by Oswald Spengler
    -Society Against Itself, by Howard Schwartz
    -Explaining Postmodernism, by Stephen Hicks
    -Modernity without Restraint, by Eric Voegelin

    The general theme here addresses Anti-Western passions. In general, I recommend anything touched by Voegelin or Spengler.

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  6. Free NorthernerJanuary 17, 2013 at 6:47 PM

    Hey, I liked this question. I answered the question here:
    http://freenortherner.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/the-free-mans-reading-list/

    The permanent, list version can be found here:
    http://freenortherner.wordpress.com/free-mans-reading-list/

    ReplyDelete

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Seattle resident whose real name is Kevin Daniels. This blog covers the following topics, libertarian philosophy, realpolitik, western culture, history and the pursuit of truth from the perspective of a libertarian traditionalist.