Book excerpt: "Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850) dedicated himself completely to his two great passions: liberty and economics. He worked tirelessly, even to his last breath, to persuade anyone who would listen that the two ideas are inseparable. This is the main theme of his life and work. This collection-The Bastiat Collection-is the corpus of his writing gathered together for the first time in English. Bastiat's work has often been appreciated for its undeniable rhetorical power. He wrote to be understood-and to change the world. But neither can the reader overlook its theoretical rigor. It is some of the best economics ever written. Even today, Bastiat's work is the antidote for economic illiteracy. Everyone from the novice to the professional economist will benefit from reading it"--back cover.