Rating: 
Summary: Henderson rivals Hazlitt !
Review:
In the mid-80s, I took a casual poll of free market leaders:
What are the top-five free-market books for a novice to read?Every one of them put Henry Hazlitt's "Economics in One
Lesson" on his or her list, typically at the top. If I were to repeat the poll now, I suspect Hazlitt's classic
will have a contender for first place, my friend David
Henderson's "The Joy of Freedom." Henderson seduces the reader with his personal stories,
like why as a college kid in Canada he resigned from
a great summer job measuring trees. His stories are
so much fun to read that learning economics kinda
sneaks up on you. Indeed, it's Henderson's charm that is the anti-dote
for what von Mises called the "Anti-Capitalist Mentality."
(BTW, Mises' book of that title was on many 'top-five'
lists, and Bastiat's "The Law" was on every list.) You'll want an extra copy or two of "Joy of Freedom"
for lending to friends who do not share your love of
freedom, especially those who will even argue about its
meaning.
Rating:
Summary: I'm using this book
Review: As a professional economist who is constantly looking for better ways to communicate the essence of economics to non economists, I couldn't be more enthusiastic about Henderson's The Joy of Freedom. Without mind numbing diagrams and equations, Henderson conveys more economic understanding than any of the standard text books I know--and I know a lot of them, having written a few myself. And it is not just economic concepts and the standard perspective on economic efficiency that he communicates so compellingly. With a personal story beautifully woven into the narrative, Henderson shows how humane and socially concerned economists can be (and generally are). Read this book and find out that economists can be passionate in wanting to make this world a better place, and have real guide posts in going about it, guide posts that elevate the ideal of freedom to the central organizing principle. The next time I teach a principles courses I'm going to do my students a tremendous favor by using David Henderson's The Joy of Freedom: An Economists Odyssey as the main text.
Rating:
Summary: The Joy....
Review: Better than "Free to Choose"
If you liked "the armchair economist" you will love this book.
Very clean prose.
Rating:
Summary: Digging ourselves out of the government health care fiasco
Review: Buy this engaging book if for no other reason than to read the author's lucid explanation of the federal health care cost mess. Before reading it, I thought that health care economics was incredibly complicated, "solved" only by policy wonks with piles of regulations. However, David Henderson shines the light of free-market thinking onto the issue, illustrating how we can be "free and healthy at half the cost". He is especially compelling answering fears that deregulation will lead to a two-tier health care system, one for the rich and another for the poor. In fact, I am now convinced that getting the government out of this business will increase access to doctors, medicines, and good care by consumers at all income levels.
Rating:
Summary: A personal path of discovery
Review: David Henderson is my friend and I helped him with this book, so I suppose I'm biased. But my familiarity can help you decide whether to buy this book or not. The Joy of Freedom is the work of an exceptional teacher who has a skill for communicating economic concepts. It is the result of his lifelong desire to understand the world, to better himself, and to help others. As the reader, we walk side by side with David as he struggles to understand complex and important issues. He tells us stories from his life, from childhood through his successful career as an economist. The result is an interesting, easy-to-read, understandable, and enjoyable book about some of the more pressing problems of our time. How many other books can make that claim? If you care about your personal retirement assets, your ability to get good health care, the education of yourself or your children, your rights and security, the inner workings of the government, the laws of economics, discrimination, or the environment, this book has something for you. You don't have to agree with everything Dr. Henderson says. In fact, because he is such a good thinker and communicator, his path of discovery should help you on your own, whatever course it may take.
Rating:
Summary: Top Notch Introduction to Economics and Liberty
Review: David Henderson's book, The Joy of Freedom: An Economist's Odyssey, is part introductory economics, part libertarian political philosophy, and part autobiography. This might seem like a lot of ground for one book to cover, but Henderson is able to lucidly combine all three into an enjoyable and lively read.
Henderson discusses the role of economics in society. He takes examples from his own life when discussing socialism, health care, public education, the morality of markets, and government inefficiency. This provides the reader a firm grasp of economic ideas and shows a more "personal" side to the a profession of economics and government.
I particularly enjoyed his passionate discussion of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Henderson writes with the deepest appreciation about the emotional, and sometimes tragic, stories of that time. This is quite revealing of the significance of the event for someone like myself who does not remember it. Of particular note was the quote used by the ex-socialist Heilbroner, "socialism has far surpassed capitalism in both economic malfunction and moral cruelty". To hear Heilbroner say that is a testament to the power of ideas. Even the most ardent opponents of freedom can sometimes change. That gives me hope for the world today.
Henderson meanders from topic to topic providing anecdotes and examples that leave the reader with a greater understanding of economics without the confusion or dry nature of many other books of the genre. I found this book to be partly more enjoyable because I am familiar with Henderson's work. It was interesting to hear about the personal life and professional career of a well known economist. This would be a great introductory book for someone interested in economics or classical liberalism.
Rating:
Summary: More relevant than ever.
Review: Henderson is one of the few economists who can cogently communicate the "Joy of Freedom" passionately to an audience new to the magic of markets without getting sidetracked. Too often, when one reads introductory economics texts they cast the science as boring, impassionate, and overly analytical. Most other introductory books I've read begin by prematurely stating that economists must be value neutral and going on to immediately talking about supply, demand, elasticity, and trying to use a graph of supply and demand with an extra line and some shading to convince new, reluctant minds that policies such as price controls and the minimum wage are inefficient. This runs in sharp contrast to the introductory texts of other sciences, such as sociology and psychology, which openly begin with sometimes corny lines about the relevance of their thoughts and feelings to society. Although I believe that the authors in these other sciences often lack a solid background in critical thought and data analysis, they generally are more effective in getting new people to think about their fields. Henderson is the welcome and notable exception that tactfully extends the "invisible hand" to readers who might hold very biased prejudices against economics and economists to guide them to a whole new world of thought and analysis. Through a collection of personal experiences backed by a reasonable and digestible amount of economics in each chapter, he is effective in his goal of doing what most economists cannot -- explaining the most relevant aspects of economics to the most important audience. Ultimately the effectiveness of the highlighting the implications of public policy for the lives of common people is more influental in changing the world than any article in the American Economic Review. While adding to existing knowledge is vital, attracting new thinkers and altering the biased beliefs of the Median Voter is at least equally as important.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling, Fresh, and Passionate
Review: I spend a large amount of time searching for books that explain economics in compelling, non-jargony language. There are distressingly few such good books. This book by David Henderson, though, is certainly one of these few. The reader need not have ever studied economics to enjoy this book. And even the reader who holds a PhD in the subject will not only enjoy this book, but will also learn from it -- learn how to communicate better as well gain even deeper insights into the ways markets and politics work. One reason why economics is such an enduring subject is that continued reflection on its principles never stops deepening our understanding of the world. David Henderson is among the very finest guides to the fascinating subject of economics. I sincerely hope that all citizens will read this book -- and that all economists will read it twice.
Rating: 
Summary: An explanation of freedom from a personal perspective
Review: Professor Henderson does not disappoint with this book. During the early 1990s, I had the pleasure of taking a class from Professor Henderson at the Naval Postgraduate School. Professor Henderson was then, and I expect he still is, one of the most popular teachers at the school. That isn't because he's an easy grader or that he has an incredible grasp of economics. It is because he possesses an innate ability to communicate the most difficult of subjects with ease and clarity. He is an engaging advocate for liberty. In fact, economics is not the dismal science when he instructs. He explains, in a sometimes-personal way, how markets work and many of the issues that we face today with a pointed lucidity. The arguments put forward are not new. In fact, I'd be surprised if many readers have not heard them already. What makes this book different and so enjoyable is how Professor Henderson's optimistic outlook and perspective pervades his explanation of issues so critical to our understanding of the world and our personal freedom. More importantly, Professor Henderson is an advocate for liberty. In a world that is increasingly controlled by government, this is a must read.
Rating:
Summary: Read this book!
Review: The Joy of Freedom is like Atlas Shrugged in that reading both books ignites a passion for liberty in me. Henderson, like Rand, is a zealous advocate of freedom. The difference between the two books and their authors, however, is that Rand tends to be combative whereas Henderson tends to deliver a pleasant message. Henderson tells of his intellectual journey as a free-market economist and libertarian. Along the way he applies the principles of freedom and free-market economics to the vital issues of the past, present, and future. "This book", he writes, "is about freedom, about how well freedom works and how government, by crushing freedom, messes up our lives." Henderson didn't take economics until his final year of college. His evaluation of introductory economics: "The course was a profound disappointment." The text and the lectures did not raise questions that were interesting to him about how markets work. The model of "perfect competition" turned him off, as it does many students. Fortunately, Henderson attended lectures by economist Harold Demsetz who did explain how markets work, which rekindled Henderson's interest in economics. What sort of questions does Henderson find interesting? In 1969 he asked Hubert Humphrey: "Then how do you reconcile your belief in the Thirteenth Amendment [prohibiting slavery] with your belief in the draft?" Henderson devotes an entire chapter to property rights and emphasizes their efficacy throughout. He poses the following scenario: "You walk by a yard and see someone painting a house. Pointing a gun at him is another man who orders the first man to stop painting." Then he asks: "Who is in the right?" Henderson might alter your view of the world. Consider this way of thinking about taxes: "Imagine that a thief takes your money at gunpoint, uses your money to buy a steak, and then brings the steak to your house and gives it to you." His question is: "Would you say that he didn't steal from you?" He even dares to ask: "Should we have taxes at all?" He raises the question of why the standard of living in the U.S. rises despite the shortcomings of government schools. About schools, he also asks: "If you went to a government school, or if your children go to a government school, is `exciting' the first adjective, or even the fifth adjective, you would use to describe the experience?" Concerning the environment, he asks: "How far could we go in the direction of using private property to solve environmental problems?" A reader of this book can expect to encounter many thought-provoking points as well as serious contributions to policies on social security, health care, education, and the environment.
| 
