The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek (Univ. of Chicago, $17). Hayek demolishes central planning in one sentence, which I’ll paraphrase because he wrote the book in a foreign language—in his case, English: The worst possible world would be created by taking the most prominent experts in every field and giving each one absolute power over his area of expertise.
The Warden by Anthony Trollope (Dover, $2). A smug, reforming newspaper reporter speaks truth to power and destroys—as a matter of principle, of course—an ancient, honorable, and worthy little almshouse. “He took such high ground that there was no getting on it.”
Free to Choose by Milton and Rose Friedman (Houghton Mifflin, $15). You can spend your money on yourself and get what you want. You can spend your money on someone else and get what you think they should have. You can spend someone else’s money on yourself and be farting through silk. Or you can spend someone else’s money on someone else and the hell with what happens. All government spending falls into the last two categories.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Property and Freedom by Richard Pipes (Vintage, $15). Using the history of Russia, Pipes frames the issue clearly: Just freedom and you get the anarchists’ bombs. Just property and you get the czar. Neither and you get Stalin.
Advise and Consent by Allen Drury (out of print). A “political independent” is someone who is proud of the fact that he has no idea what to think. The novel Advise and Consent is the story of a 1950s foreign-policy flap involving the Senate confirmation of some jerk, and Drury manages it without telling us which political parties the president or his congressional opponents belong to. Judging by some recent foreign-policy flaps, today’s president and his congressional opponents still aren’t sure.
Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes (Oxford, $10). The way to understand how a decent and intelligent man can convince himself with irrefutable logic that a despotic government is a necessity. And it’s a reminder to all students of political science that the most convincing arguments are the wrong ones.
-
Saudi Arabia could become an AI focal pointUnder the Radar A state-backed AI project hopes to rival China and the United States
-
What you need to know about last-minute travelThe Week Recommends You can book an awesome trip with a moment’s notice
-
Codeword: October 29, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Gilbert King’s 6 favorite books about the search for justiceFeature The journalist recommends works by Bryan Stevenson, David Grann, and more
-
Nathan Harris’ 6 favorite books that turn adventures into revelationsFeature The author recommends works by Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McGuire, and more
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetimeFeature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
-
Lou Berney’s 6 favorite books with powerful storytellingFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Dorothy B. Hughes, James McBride, and more
-
Elizabeth Gilbert’s favorite books about women overcoming difficultiesFeature The author recommends works by Tove Jansson, Lauren Groff, and more
-
Fannie Flagg’s 6 favorite books that sparked her imaginationFeature The author recommends works by Johanna Spyri, John Steinbeck, and more
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is moreFeature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
-
Keith McNally's 6 favorite books that have ambitious charactersFeature The London-born restaurateur recommends works by Leo Tolstoy, John le Carré, and more
