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    Cover of How I found freedom in an unfree world

    How I found freedom in an unfree world

    Harry Browne · 1973

    "Freedom is living your life the way you want to live it. This book shows how you can have that freedom now - without having to change the world or the people around you."--Jacket

    Productivity & Self-Improvement
    Open LibraryAmazon
    Stats for nerds
    19recommend
    31mentions
    21people
    2009–2026years
    87% recommend13% neutral

    Mentions per year

    2009201120132015201720192021202320252026

    What Hacker News says

    1. fidelramosSep 2026
      I'm reading Harry Browne's "How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World" [0]. This book is a good guide and inspiration, even if I don't fully agree with every point.

      [0] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/82104

      thread
    2. cageyOct 2023
      How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World by Harry Browne
      thread
    3. raintreesSep 2023
      Browne wrote a number of books I found helpful, such as How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World.

      http://harrybrowne.org/

      (corrected title)

      thread
    4. leobgSep 2021
      “How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World” by Harry Browne.
      thread
    5. cageyMar 2021
      How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World: A Handbook for Personal Liberty by Harry Browne
      thread
    6. AntiImperialistDec 2020
      Yes, lots. But again, I think it's a life situation thing. What is extremely revealing and useful for me could be completely redundant or harmful for you.

      Having said that, I found the following, in no particular order, worth it to have read than not:

      =================

      The Richest Man in Babylon

      =================

      It simplified how I think about personal finance for me. I was irresponsible with my finances. This provided some basic rules of economics and personal finance that have stuck with me.

      =========================

      The Simple Path to Wealth

      =========================

      I read this one only recently but it simplified things even more for me when it comes to investing. I had been doing sort of the same thing but it gave it much more perspective on how simple things can be.

      =====================================

      How I found Freedom in an Unfree World

      =====================================

      I think this one has empowered me to look for things I can control rather than getting stuck up on things I can't.

      ====================

      The Sovereign Individual

      ====================

      I have a different and richer view of politics than I did before I read this book.

      =============================

      A Short History of Nearly Everything

      =============================

      Gives a different perspective of scientists. I think I believed "science" much more before I got to know personal stories of scientists.

      ===============================

      Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

      ===============================

      Good read just because it's popular and referenced in other places... and is interesting if you're into "history" of humans. It's fictional (in that, it's his take on what happened) obviously but he makes it look like that is actually what happened.

      =============================

      All books by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

      =============================

      He has the same kind of hatred of the academics that I do, which I think I resonate with. And the ideas are interesting.

      =========================================

      Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide to the Economy

      =========================================

      Simplified (sometimes oversimplified) economics which is a good read for American conservative view on economics.

      ==========================

      Propaganda by Edward Bernays

      ==========================

      This was written when the meaning of propaganda was changing to something nefarious (previously, it has a positive neutral or positive meaning to it, in that it meant "propagation of information" - implied to be for public good). Edward Bernays is the father of what is now known as Public Relations.

      Related to the same book:

      * http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html (this one is among the most shared links on HN)

      * Tim Wu's books: The Master Switch and The Attention Merchants

      =========================

      The Complete Guide to Fasting

      =========================

      Even though I met people who were fasting, I needed to read this before I would start doing it myself so that I felt I understood what I was getting into.

      =====================

      High Output Management

      =====================

      I was a follower of "management is unnecessary" meme which pervades the dev community. This gives a first principle view of what's happening in management.

      ===============================================================

      The Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (and the newer edition of the same)

      ===============================================================

      It's just an insider view on international organizations. I had second hand knowledge of how corrupt these organizations are... but it is just one more confirmation. Do I think the author is biased? Yes. It's only his view and I'm sure other people many have a more positive outlook and intentions in these organizations... but at least I'm familiar with this one.

      ===========================================================

      Unsavory Truth: How Food Companies Skew the Science of What We Eat

      ===========================================================

      Again, it's one view of how food science works, and it confirms my personal experience with information I get from science, whether on the internet or from the doctors (who basically say the same thing that ends up in WebMD).

      These are not all of them but it covers a lot of them that I consider have enriched me in one way or other.

      thread

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