Here’s your perfectly curated LN writer’s list for a last-minute stocking stuffer or, if you’re all caught up, then why not treat yourself to one of these goodies?
Economics in One Lesson – A Pocket Symphony for Economics
Think it’s impossible to give a gift to the person who has everything? Are you tired of showering your wife with diamond necklaces or your husband with gold watches? Well, we have an idea for you: Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt.
This book will inform the people in your life – special and non-special – that they need a dose of basic economics in their everyday existence, and not of the Keynesian variety either. What better way to tell your spouse, your nephew, or your mailman that you love and appreciate them than by educating them on how the price system works, the mirage of inflation, and credit diverts production. By next Christmas, you can debate the merits of full employment and real wealth with your loathsome brother-in-law.
So, this Christmas, forget that poster of Austrian economics it-girl Ludwig von Mises for your teenage daughter or that down payment to that seasteading paradise, and grab your copy of Hazlitt’s magnum opus today! – Andrew Moran
It’s a Wonderful Life – 65th Anniversary Edition
The 1946 movie by Frank Capra has been one of the best-loved winter tales for over 70 years and is still going strong. A moving tale centered around James Stewart’s character George Bailey, it has spawned Christmas traditions, theater productions, and, of course, the obligatory DVD specials.
This 65th anniversary edition is a great gift for the holiday season. It includes both the original black and white version and the somewhat unnerving colorized version, a reproduction of the original RKO 1946 theatrical movie poster, and a selection of limited-edition postcards.
Although the movie is shown pretty much every Christmas, for me, it’s a film that can be enjoyed at any time of year. Such a moving story that almost always brings a tear to the eye, it rates not just as my favorite Christmas movie, but as one of my all-time top films. – Mark Angelides
Atlas Shrugged
If you have a week available for reading during the holiday, Ayn Rand’s classic Atlas Shrugged may be the right book for you – or as a gift to someone you want to become enthralled by the ideas of liberty. Her epic novel is ranked as the most important book in America, after only the Bible. Some even call it the “Second Declaration of Independence.” Driven forth by an exciting whodunnit plot, the reader gets to feel the pain and destruction of suffocating under progressive socialism and a yearning for freedom. Will America succumb to the forces of darkness? You need to read it right to the end to find out. – Onar Åm
The People’s Choice
Looking for that go-to gift for the political, liberty-loving, mystery-reading friend or family member? Go old school and pick up a copy of a tome that was ahead of its time, The People’s Choice, by award-winning television journalist and author Jeff Greenfield.
Penned in 1995, this 320-page romp through the world of politics – from the ugly underbelly to a shining example of a government saved by the people – begins with a popular president-elect tragically dying before the Electoral College casts the formal votes ratifying the presidency, leaving the very unpopular vice president in limbo.
With ruthless pols, heroic regular people of valor, power-brokers, and the sniveling, weaselly, pawns of the media, Greenfield weaves a tale of American politics that rivals anything in today’s electrically charged environment. The reader will laugh out loud at the spot-on characterization of the players, and at the same time feel horror at the process that kicks in when the world believes the American presidency is up for grabs. – Sarah Cowgill
Beastie Boys Book
Mike D (Michael Diamond) and King Ad-Rock (Adam Horovitz) lay their beats on paper with this first autobiography of the iconic band. They inked the deal for the book in 2015, but like their sixth studio album, To the 5 Boroughs, it is worth the wait.
“He was the rare person who actually does all the crazy things they say they’re gonna do. And does them even crazier…” That’s how Ad-Rock describes MCA (Adam Yauch), the deceased member of the band, but it’s a good description of the Beastie Boys, as we learn through 590 pages that do justice to the group and its legacy. A must-have for any hardcore fan. Go old-school and buy the book on dead tree version. For the photos alone, it’s worth the price of admission. – Scott D. Cosenza
The Message
For jazz fans, I recommend The Message by The Stanley Clarke Band, released in June of this year. Clarke shows us he can still swing it and then some. His track “Alternative Facts” reveals a very approachable traditional jazz style but with fusion and funk mixed in. The result is a pleasing delivery of contemporary jazz filed with soul and style. His riffs are still lyrical, and The Message comes off as fresh but not forced with a diverse, strong backup band. – Leesa K. Donner
