The Law [Frédéric Bastiat] - Concise and succint, Bastiat blasts the tendency of government to act as if it determines Law. Instead, he argues that Law exists as prior to and supreme over government. Bastiat famously said "The State is the great fiction through which everyone endeavours to live at the expense of everyone else."
Freakonomics [Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner] - I regularly listen to the Freakonomics podcast, so it's about time I actually read the book (I've got Superfreakonomics on the shelf too).
Adapt: Why success Always Starts with Failure [Tim Harford] - I'm about 3/4 of the way through Harford's application of evolutionary theory to human decision making. He spins compelling, real-life stories that powerfully demonstrate the importance of variation, selection and survivability.
Liberalism [Ludwig von Mises] - Contemporary "liberalism" typically promotes social freedom, while limiting (or even squelching) economic freedom. Historically, the term "liberal" referred to the promotion of freedom in both economic and social spheres and was based on the theory of individual rights. Mises makes the case for this latter form of "classical liberalism."
Democracy in America [Alexis de Tocqueville] - Tocqueville speaks for himself - "I know of no country in which there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America."
Tags: philosophy, politics, economics