The Essence of Friedman

This book is one in a series of compilations of works by eminent scholars published and still for sale by the Hoover Institution (others in the series include Friedrich A. von Hayek, George J. Stigler, and Gary S. Becker). The book is a great overview of both Friedman's political publications and his economic ones. The selections range from Friedman's academic literature to his Newsweek columns to his magazine articles. As a sample of Friedman's academic papers, many of which are now classics in the economic literature, this volume is an absolute treasure. The quality of the chapter summaries in Anna J. Schwartz' introduction is first-rate as well. If you are interested in reading Friedman's political writings, Free to Choose and Capitalism and Freedom provide more comprehensively structured expositions of Friedman's philosophy. The articles and columns in Essence, while certainly top-notch (then again, what by Friedman isn't?), are a looser collection in both topic and format. Part of Friedman's brilliance is his ability to explain advanced economic concepts to general readers without "dumbing down" the substance. If you don't shy away from reading advanced academic papers, you'll enjoy this volume. Otherwise, the compilations of Friedman's Newsweek columns (There's No Such Thing as a Free Lunch and Bright Promises, Dismal Performance) may be more suitable.