Anyone on this board had the opportunity to meet Mises, Rothbard, or Hayek?
If so what were your impressions?
Or, which of the current living Austrians actually got to meet and/or study under any of the above?
Ralph Raico met all three. I can think of a few that met two but not sure how many are still around that met and knew all three.
Raico is an interesting fellow. It’s interesting to note the divergence Raico, Reisman, Rothbard, took from Mises.
He isn’t in your list, but I did get to meet Ron Paul. Best moment of my life.
Ron Paul rocks! Ron Paul 2012?
Definitely Ron Paul 2012.
I was really hoping to meet Dr. Raico at Mises U this year but sadly he will not be there. I think that he would fascinate me to no end. He has such a mastery of the social sciences that I cannot help but idolize him.
Hate to break it to you guys but the Earth will hit the Moon before the Federal Government lets Ron Paul strip them of their power.
not meaning to hijack the thread
I really wish there was more information about Murray Rothbards life. I have read everything relating to life that i could find and i still have so many questions.
I remember overhearing someone say that Rothbard had books from wall to wall in his apartment and when people came to visit he was always moving stacks of books around the room so people could sit down…if find things like that so interesting.
I feel the exact same way when it comes to fiction authors.
“not meaning to hijack the thread” Hijack away. That’s what this thread is for:). What great personal stories do folks have with Mises, Hayek, Rothbard? Or what have you heard about their antics and personal lives from credible sources?
How. Do. These. Guys. Manage. To. Be. So. Productive?!
That’s what I want to know.
Ronald Hamowy on Rothbards productivity:
"Everyone familiar with Rothbard’s writings is aware that he wrote a truly prodigious amount. What is not as well known is that he seems to have totally mastered the literature in those fields in which he had an interest. He had a vast library and unlike the books in my own library, all of Murray’s books had been read, and read with care. All one need do is scan a book out of Murray’s library and he will find marginal comments in Murray’s hands scribbled on each page (”Bull____!,” “Ugh!” “Right on!”, etc.) and that almost every line on every page was underlined. One of the great mysteries for all who knew him, at least at the outset, was where on earth he found the time to turn out the dozens of books, hundreds of articles, and literally thousands of letters he wrote and on top of it to read so much. In addition to have written a massive amount he seemed to have read everything that came within his grasp, newspapers, magazines, journals, newsletters, even flyers and advertisers.
I discovered the answer to this conundrum one day when reading an interview with W. Somerset Maugham, who was asked how he could turn out so many novels and short stories when he partied every evening. His reply was that if he devoted only four hours a day to writing, he’d be able to produce three or four pages each day. That meant, he pointed out, that if he were to keep to that schedule regularly, he could produce no less than 1,000 pages a year! I don’t mean to suggest that Murray’s schedule was the same as was Maugham’s, but he certainly devoted a good part of almost every day to reading and writing and even if he spent his evenings in conversation and otherwise enjoying the company of his friends, that left him each afternoon in which to work, which he did religiously. I don’t recall ever going over to his apartment without finding him in the midst of either reading or writing."
a while back when I was in my rothbard obsession mode, I found, I think on Lew Rockwell, a collection of ulogy type writings by dozens of austrians written after his death. i found it pretty interesting
@ Jeremiah
“One of the (very few, perhaps the only) problems I have with the publication output of Murray N. Rothbard is that he never wrote his autobiography.” Walter Block
I completely agree.
I did find the book that mike spoke of (or atlest i think it is)
http://mises.org/books/memoriam.pdf
There is always this great talk by Walter block
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtYH77bxeCU
My guess is you’ve seen them already if so I’ll try and source more stuff for ya.
Given Rothbard’s impressive library and daily reading schedule, what are the odds that he was a speed reader?
Richard Ebeling:
"The late Roy Childs, who was editor of Libertarian Review in the 1970s and long served as book reviewer for the Laissez Faire book catalog, was for many years a close friend of Murray Rothbard’s. He told that he was once staying over at Rothbard’s New York City apartment. In the living room one day, Roy was slowly reading through a book, while Rothbard sat on a couch across the room rapidly turning the pages of a book he was going through.
Roy asked him how he could absorb what the author was trying to say going through the volume that quickly. Rothbard threw the book across the room and said, “Roy, open it to any page, any page and I’ll tell you what he says.” Roy randomly opened the book, started reading from a passage, and Rothbard finished it for him. Practically every room in Rothbard’s large apartment was lined from floor to ceiling with bookcases. Murray said, “Roy, pick any book, any book off any shelf, open the book to any page and I’ll tell you about the author’s argument.” Roy picked a dust-covered book about ethics from a top shelf, opened it, and began to read aloud. Rothbard not only finished explaining the author’s theory, but critically analyzed it and told Roy the other books that needed to be read to fully understand why the author was wrong!"
First time seeing this. Great vid!
So depressing. I need a beer.
VIRESH! Stop it! Aghhh! Dammit I need to go buy a Hummer or something to compensate.
HOW DID HE DO THAT?! I don’t buy it. I remember Walter Block saying he could write 24 pages a day (ARGH!). If he had an apartment so full of books, writing basically a novel a day. I don’t buy, even at 4 hours a day I don’t see how it could be done. Or even to have that level of focus for 4 hours. ARGH.