Introduction
Part I. A Viennese Youth
1. A Fin-de-Siècle Wedding
2. Family Life
3. At School
4. Austrian Politics and Anti-Semitism
5. At War
Part II. A Broadening of Horizons
6. Back at Home in Postwar Austria
7. The University of Vienna
8. The Peripatetic Student: Fritz at University
9. Mises and the Geistkreis
10. Changes of Scene
11. The Trip to America
Part III. The Making of an Economist
12. Return to Vienna
13. Hella Joins the Family
14. At the Institute for Business Cycle Research
15. The Young Academic
Part IV. Hayek in 1930s England
16. Hayek Comes to LSE
17. The Encounter with Keynes
18. Defending Economic Theory and Interpreting Hitler
19. Socialism and Knowledge
20. Academic Life at LSE
21. The Battle for Young LSE Minds
22. Hayek and Austria
23. Domestic Affairs
24. The Hayek Family Debates Politics
Part V. Fighting the Spirit of the Age
25. Liberalism: Its Adversaries and Allies
26. Hayek and London Go to War: The Abuse and Decline of Reason
27. Cambridge
28. A Sixpence Penguin Volume: The Road to The Road to Serfdom
29. Scientism and Popper
30. The Publication(s) of The Road to Serfdom
Part VI. Changing Worlds
31. War’s End
32. Postwar Austria
33. Mont Pèlerin 1947
34. Hayek Looks for a Job
35. 1949—Hayek’s Annus Horribilis
36. Hayek versus Hayek
Acknowledgments
References
Index
Bruce Caldwell is research professor of economics and the director of the Center for the History of Political Economy at Duke University. He is the general editor of the Collected Works of F. A. Hayek series, also published by the University of Chicago Press. Hansjoerg Klausinger is associate professor emeritus in the Department of Economics at WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
“A fascinating, readable biography of Friedrich Hayek. . . The book
punctures some long-standing myths about Hayek . . . [and] deserves
a wide audience.”
*The Economist*
“An engrossing story . . . [and] as detailed an account of the
first half of Hayek’s life as anyone could ask for.”
*Literary Review*
“A propulsive read. The authors are expert guides to Hayek’s
intellectual evolution. . . . [but] they are also perceptive guides
to Hayek’s private life. . . . Caldwell and Klausinger have
triumphantly succeeded.”
*Prospect*
“No one is likely to repeat this feat. . . . This is the definitive
Hayek for our times.”
*Spectator*
“The story, presented here with more detail than anyone has
previously unfolded, is a simple and tragic one. . . . [Hayek’s]
was a spectacular achievement, but one, in the end, that could not
have been made by a gregarious man of deep friendships and profound
personal commitments.”
*Times Literary Supplement*
“A gloriously detailed and thoroughly reliable account of the first
half of Hayek’s life.”
*London Review of Books*
"Anybody curious about [Hayek] is well served by the exhaustive
account written by two historians of economic thought."
*New Statesman*
"The first volume of what will surely be the definitive biography
of Friedrich von Hayek. . . a deeply impressive work."
*Project Syndicate*
"In mind-stunning detail . . . Caldwell and Klausinger tell
everything about Hayek's youth you wanted to know but were afraid
to ask."
*Reason Magazine*
"The Hayek who emerges from this text is somewhat of a charming
loner who maintained distance between himself and all but a small
number of individuals . . . The fullness of Caldwell and
Klausinger’s picture of Hayek’s life and ideas owes much to their
comprehensive study of primary sources."
*Law & Liberty*
"Much has been written about Hayek’s work, but Hayek: A Life,
1899-1950 by Bruce Caldwell and Hansjoerg Klausinger stands as the
definitive intellectual biography of Hayek."
*History of Economic Ideas*
"The biography excels in the way it embeds Hayek in his familial
and social setting, and it demonstrates the extent to which his
work was shaped, mainly in critical response, to the major
intellectual developments of his age. Caldwell and Klausinger tell
the story by providing a rich context of Hayek’s intellectual
endeavors, first in Vienna and subsequently in London."
*Independent Review*
"One of the best biographies of any economist, covers anything you
might wish to know, and with conceptual understanding. This is a
fantastic book."
*Marginal Revolution*
"Caldwell and Klausinger have created an authoritative and superbly
researched biography about one of the greatest intellectuals of the
twentieth century . . . Based on tireless archival work, the
authors have painstakingly assembled innumerable existing details
regarding Hayek’s life and scientific work from an astonishing
array of sources in order to create a coherent picture of one of
the most complex and intriguing social scientists. This makes the
book a thoughtful work and one of the finest biographies of
economists."
*Journal of the History of Economic Thought*
“A magnificent achievement. Caldwell and Klausinger bring Hayek
alive; they also bring his world alive. This is riveting reading,
taken as biography, and it’s much more than that. It casts a bright
new light on Hayek’s era, and on our own.”
*Cass R. Sunstein, coauthor of 'Nudge: Improving Decisions about
Health, Wealth, and Happiness'*
“Hayek: A Life, 1899–1950 is a triumph of both scholarship and
biography. Caldwell and Klausinger have given us an instant
classic, sure to stimulate and enrich debates about this most
controversial, and still misunderstood, economist and social
philosopher.”
*Joel Isaac, author of 'Working Knowledge: Making the Human
Sciences from Parsons to Kuhn'*
"Admirers and opponents of Hayek alike will find much to savor in
this deeply researched, sweeping biography. Even readers who well
know Hayek and his times will be enlightened and enriched."
*Jennifer Burns, author of 'Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the
American Right'*
“Hayek: A Life, 1899–1950 is brilliant, comprehensive, and
engaging. For any historian, social scientist, or philosopher
interested in how ideas shaped the twentieth century and how the
events of the twentieth century framed intellectual discourse, this
is a must-read."
*Peter Boettke, author of 'Living Economics: Yesterday, Today, and
Tomorrow'*
“By far the most careful and comprehensive treatment of his early
life and works, Hayek: A Life, 1899–1950 is an invaluable resource,
full of remarkable discoveries.”
*Angus Burgin, author of 'The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free
Markets since the Depression'*
"This is without any doubt an out-standing biography that should
become the go-to account of Hayek’s life as an economist."
*Business Economics*
"A profound and trustworthy biography.”
*Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung*
“A monumental biography.”
*Future of Freedom Foundation*
A 2022 Notable Book
*Seminary Co-Op*
"Excellently researched . . . this biography offers exciting
insights.”
*Der Standard (Austria)*
"As the authors state, they intended this to be the definitive
biography and they have achieved this ambition."
*The Enlightened Economist*
"This book is in every sense a monumental undertaking, for which we
should be profoundly grateful."
*The Critic*
"This first volume of a monumental recounting of his life and
thought will contribute to establishing [Hayek] firmly as one of
the principal economists of the twentieth century."
*Economic Affairs*
“A fascinating hybrid between personal and intellectual biography .
. . the biography is a major publishing event for everyone
interested in Hayek’s intellectual development . . . We can now
contemplate more deeply and with greater confidence the question as
to what made Hayek a prominent economist, indeed one of the most
accomplished and lauded economists of the twentieth century.”
*History of Economics Review*
"This biography contains wonderful material for understanding both
the strengths and the limits of Hayek’s thought as it developed up
to 1950. It is a major contribution to Hayek studies."
*The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought*
"This biography is remarkably comprehensive, and is of first-rate
quality. It is, for such a scholarly work, surprisingly readable,
and should be a key port of call for all students interested in
Hayek’s work. Just because of the complexity of Hayek’s work, and
the way in which ideas in different fields are interconnected, this
study seems to me equally important for those who are sympathetic
towards Hayek, as well as those who wish to make effective
criticisms."
*Society*
"Hayek: A Life is crucial read for understanding liberal economic
thought in the twentieth-century and how it influenced much of the
economic thinking of Cold War era conservatism and capitalism, the
politics of freedom and anti-communism, and continues to be an
alluring alternative to the soft centralism and managerialism of
new establishment erected in the aftermath of the Cold War and War
on Terror."
*VoegelinView*
"Vastly superior to the scores of books and pamphlets on Hayek,
Ludwig von Mises, and the other heroes of Mont Pelerin that have
been churned out by think tank men and bow tied libertarians for
some decades. At times the authors do take on a mildly critical
approach to their subject, and the amount of detail they have dug
up is impressive. If you are interested in both facts and
speculations about Hayek’s personal life—for instance his already
mentioned divorce—this is the book for you. The volume covers much
more interesting topics as well, and often does a good job at
explaining the contexts within which Hayek lived, worked, and
thought. . . Caldwell and Klausinger do excel at showing how
political ideas come from a specific time and place and are
directed toward specific contemporary debates."
*Journal of Economic Literature*
"Thoroughly researched. . . Hayek: A Life, 1899-1950 is a
monumental and sympathetic biography of Friedrich Hayek. It is very
well written, very clear and well structured. . . . and shows
great scholarship."
*History of Economic Thought and Policy*
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