Called by H. L. Mencken, “one of the few economists in history who could really write,” Henry Hazlitt achieved lasting fame for this brilliant but concise work. In it, he explains basic truths about economics and the economic fallacies responsible for unemployment, inflation, high taxes, and recession. Covering considerable ground, Hazlitt illustrates the destructive effects of taxes, rent and price controls, inflation, trade restrictions, and minimum-wage laws. He also writes about key classical liberal thinkers like John Locke, Adam Smith, Thomas Jefferson, John Stuart Mill, Alexis de Tocqueville, and Herbert Spencer.

Henry Hazlitt (1894-1993), was a libertarian philosopher, an economist, and a journalist for the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Newsweek, among other publications. He was the founding vice-president of the Foundation for Economic Education and an early editor of The Freeman magazine. He wrote several books and is most well known for his book Economics in One Lesson.