For Immediate Release
September 29, 2026
News Release
The Indispensable Robert Higgs: A Reader
Volume Captures Essence of the Scholar and Thinker.
Oakland, CA— Best known for his landmark work Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government, Robert Higgs, Retired Senior Fellow in Political Economy at the Independent Institute, has repeatedly reshaped how the public understands the relationship among government expansion, economic crises, and individual liberty.
In the new book The Indispensable Robert Higgs: A Reader (The Essential Robert Higgs), editors Christopher and Rachel Coyne have assembled a sweeping celebration of one of the most original and fearless voices in modern political thought.
Higgs’s scholarship stands out not only for its range, but for its intellectual craftsmanship. He boldly challenged conventional economic analysis by probing the reliability of official data—questioning how statistics are gathered, what they omit, and how they shape public understanding.
“Perhaps the most indispensable aspect of The Indispensable Robert Higgs is appreciating Higgs as an economic craftsman deeply committed to understanding the human aspects of the world. His contributions shed light on the past while serving as a model for future scholarship,” said Christopher Coyne, coeditor of the book.
Unlike economists who deal strictly in statistics and equations, Higgs incorporated historical evidence, institutional analysis, and human experience to illuminate the complex forces shaping political and economic life.
Timely, provocative, and deeply insightful, The Indispensable Robert Higgs: A Reader (The Essential Robert Higgs) showcases a scholar whose work continues to shape debates about power, policy, and liberty today.
Editor Biograhies:
Christopher J. Coyne is a Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute and Co-Editor of The Independent Review, and Professor of Economics and Director of Graduate Programs for the Department of Economics at George Mason University.
Rachel L. Coyne is a Senior Fellow with the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
For more information, contact Robert Ade, [email protected], or 510-632-1366 ext. 114.
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