These are difficult times for those who love freedom. But they are nothing compared to what Mises faced during his life. He prevailed, and this memoir explains how.
This new translation of Mises's moving account of his life, commissioned by the Mises Institute, preserves his idiom and precision.
Memoirs not only provides deeply fascinating personal history; it also functions as a moral and spiritual guide for any lover of liberty during times of despotism.
It was written during and after Mises's immigration to the United States in 1940. Despite being driven from his home, seeing his country taken over by a foreign dictator, having his books burned and his papers stolen, and finally pushed out of the sanctuary he had for six years, he never lost determination and never doubted the truth of liberty.
He was 59 years old and a political exile, first from Vienna (fleeing the Nazi takeover) and then from Geneva. He had been camped out in Switzerland for six years, teaching and writing the masterpiece that would later become Human Action. But he had been warned that some people wanted him turned in. He had to find a new home.
Leaving Geneva, he and his wife, Margit, drove across France, just in front of the advancing German army. They barely made it out.
There was no professorship waiting for him in the United States. He had lost everything. His library had been burned. His papers were missing. He had no money. He would have to start over, writing and speaking in a new language.
Making this transition would require all his moral courage. As he looked back over his life, he wrote the most moving, personal work ever to bear his name. It is one of the most inspiring books ever written by an intellectual — and it happens to be by one of the greatest intellectuals of all time.
There is anger in this book but also inspiration. What strikes the reader is how Mises never lost his focus on the battle of ideas. The enemies in this book are bad ideas. The answer, however, is not war or revolution or a new form of rule. For Mises, the path to liberty is through the right ideas. In this sense, this book is incredibly high minded, revealing his nobility and intellectual commitments to truth.
