In The Joy of
Freedom: An Economist's Odyssey, David R. Henderson demonstrates the power of free markets to improve the environment,
education, health, community, culture, and every other important aspect of life.
Henderson is a research fellow with the Hoover Institution and an adjunct scholar of AEI. This summary is adapted from the preface to The Joy of Freedom.
No one I know of who believes in freedom has written a book that makes the case for freedom in a
personal way. Yet the vast majority of people respond to messages that have a personal touch. We love stories about how people learned various things from their life experiences. I notice this in the classes I teach, the speeches I give, and the articles I write. People often remember a larger principle or concept by relating it to the story told that illustrates it. People also love to observe
conflict; they like to see physical or verbal battles between good and evil in which good triumphs, or at least gets the last word. I believe that the market is due, indeed overdue, for a book that contains dramatic personal stories and stories about conflict whose message celebrates freedom. The Joy of Freedom: An Economist's Odyssey is that book