A couple months back, I decided to search for libertarian book lists, compiling my own master reading list of both fiction and nonfiction. Be prepared - the list is long (133 books by 89 authors) and in no particular order.
- Hans-Hermann Hoppe
- A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism
- Democracy: The God That Failed
- The Economics and Ethics of Private Property
- Economic Science and the Austrian Method
- The Myth of National Defense
- Ludwig von Mises
- Human Action
- The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science
- Omnipotent Government: The Rise of the
- The Ethics of
- Man, Economy and State (with Power and Market?)
- Power and Market: Government and the Economy
- For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto
- Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature
- The Irrepressible Rothbard
- Education: Free & Compulsory
- America’s Great Depression
- Henry Hazlitt
- Time Will Run Back
- Economics in One Lesson
- Llewellyn H. Rockwell
- The Free Market Reader: Essays in the Economics of
- The Economics of
- Speaking of
- Frederic Bastiat
- The Law
- Milton Friedman
- Capitalism and Freedom
- Free to Choose
- Tyranny of the Status Quo
- David Friedman
- The Machinery of Freedom: Guide to a Radical Capitalism
- Linda & Morris Tannehill
- The Market for
- Randy Barnett
- The Structure of
- Lysander Spooner
- No Treason No. VI: The Constitution of No Authority
- The Lysander Spooner Reader
- James J. Kilpatrick
- The Sovereign States: Notes of a Citizen of
- Jan Narveson
- The Libertarian Idea
- Loren Lomasky
- Persons, Rights and the Moral Community
- Felix Morley
- Freedom and Federalism
- Raoul Berger
- Government by Judiciary: The Transformation of the Fourteenth Amendment
- The Fourteenth Amendment and the Bill of Rights
- Federalism: The Founder's Design
- Bruce Benson
- The
- George Reisman
- Capitalism
- The Government Against the Economy
- Ayn Rand
- Atlas Shrugged
- Philosophy: Who Needs It
- Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal
- The Capitalist Manifesto
- The Fountain Head
- Robert Heinlein
- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
- Starship Troopers
- Stranger in a Strange Land
- J. Neil Schulman
- Alongside Night
- L. Neil Smith
- The Probability Broach
- The
- John C. Wright
- The Golden Age
- David Bergland
- Libertarianism in One Lesson
- Allan Burris
- A
- Mary Ruwart
- Healing Our World
- Charles Sprading
- Walter Block
- A Lexicon of Economic Thought
- Economics & the Environment
- Jack Boulogne
- The Zoo
- Sheldon Richman
- Separating School and State
- Terry Anderson
- Free Market Environmentalism
- NAFTA and the Environment
- Joseph Bast, Peter Hill & Richard Rue
- Eco-Sanity
- Poul Anderson
- Harvest of Stars
- Mirkheim
- Orion Shall Rise
- The Last of the Deliverers
- The Discovery of Freedom
- Isabel Paterson
- The God of the Machine
- Henry Grady Weaver
- The Mainspring of Human Progress
- Richard Epstein
- Simple Rules for a Complex World
- Ronald Homowy
- Dealing with Drugs
- Wayne Lapierre
- Guns, Crime, and Freedom
- John Locke
- Two Treatises of Government
- Tibor Machan
- Individuals and Their Rights
- The
- Human Rights and Human Liberties: A Radical Reconsideration of the American Political Tradition
- Robert Nozick
- Anarchy, State, and Utopia
- Adam Smith
- The Wealth of Nations
- Peter Brimelow
- Patriot Games
- Harry Browne
- Why Government Doesn’t Work
- Friedrich von Hayek
- The Road to Serfdom
- Auberon Herbert
- The Right & Wrong of Compulsion by the State
- Isabella Horry and Michael Walker
- Government Spending Facts 2
- Francis Kendall and Leon Louw
- Let the People Govern
- Albert Jay Nock
- Our Enemy, the State
- Filip Palda
- Election Finance Regulation in
- Douglas K. Adie
- The Mail Monopoly
- R.W. Grant
- Rent Control and the War against the Poor
- Ronald Hamowy
- Canadian Medicine: A Study in Restricted Entry
- Charles Murray
- Losing Ground
- Christopher Sarlo
- Poverty in
- Edmund Opitz
- Leviathan at War
- R.J. Rummel
- Death by Government
- Robert Merrill
- The Ideas of Ayn Rand
- Douglas B. Rasmussen and Douglas J. Den Uyl
- Vernor Vinge
- A Deepness in the Sky
- James P. Hogan
- The Multiplex Man
- Voyage to Yesteryear
- The Mirror Maze
- David Boaz
- Libertarianism: A Primer
- Jeffrey Rogers Hummel
- Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men: A History of the American Civil War
- Larry Elder
- The Ten Things You Can’t Say in
- Jacob Sullum
- Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use
- John R. Lott, Jr.
- More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun-Control Laws
- Thomas Paine
- Collected Writings
- James Bovard
- Freedom in Chains: The Rise of the State and the Demise of the Citizen
- Terrorism and Tyranny: Trampling Freedom, Justice and Peace to Rid the World of Evil
- Justin Raimondo
- An Enemy of the State: The Life of
- Ludwig von Mises: The Man and His Economics
- John V. Denson
- Reassessing the Presidency: The Rise of the
- The Costs of War
- Thomas DiLorenzo
- The Real
- George Woodcock
- Anarchism
- Paul Edward Gottfried
- After Liberalism: Mass Democracy in the Managerial State
- Robert Higgs
- Crisis and Leviathan
- Depression, War, and Cold War
- Ron Paul
- The Revolution: A Manifesto
- Richard Eberling
- The Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle
- Randall Holcombe
- The Great Austrian Economists
- Thomas E. Woods, Jr.
- Meltdown
- Robert Murphy
- Chaos Theory
- William Morris
- News from Nowhere
- An Epoch of Rest
- H.G. Wells
- Men Like Gods
- Eric Frank Russell
- Late Night Final
- Alfred Bester
- The Stars My Destination
- Jack Vance
- Emphyrio
- Ursula K. Le Guin
- The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia
- Left Hand of Darkness
- Robert Anton Wilson
- The Illuminatus Trilogy
- Schroedinger's Cat
- Corey Doctorow
- Little Brother
I've been contacted several times (although no public comments have been posted) regarding the inclusion of Ayn Rand on this list. A healthy debate occurred on the Reddit forum for this post: http://is.gd/2jUdb.
Whily Rand does not represent libertarianism, the objectivism espoused in her writing does have relevance in the libertarian canon. If nothing else, her books (like Milton Friedman's) provide a good primer.