• "Well written, well researched, and the thesis put forth is well argued.... Woods has opened up an area of historical analysis that should invite further study."
    -Journal of American History

  • "During these times that challenge our freedoms there is no one more qualified to make U.S. history relevant to the fight against big government than Thomas Woods."
    -Barry Goldwater Jr.
    Former Member of Congress

  • "I strongly recommend Woods's work."
    -The Honorable Ron Paul,
    U.S. House of Representatives

  • "Written with great clarity and fluency, making the complex philosophical and theological concepts approachable."
    -Journal of American Studies

  • "A must-read."
    -Barron's

  • "An excellent reading source for anyone interested in financial markets, and much more so for anyone interested in learning about capitalism without all the misinterpretations being thrown about in the financial media."
    -Asia Times

  • "Provocative, well-written, and deserves to be read."
    -Catholic Historical Review

  • "An engaging and important contribution to scholarship on the history of American Catholicism."
    -Journal of the Historical Society

  • "Woods and [co-author Kevin] Gutzman appeal to both left and right in this constitutionalist jeremiad…. The authors' exegeses of the Constitution and court decisions, heavy on original intent arguments, are lucid and telling."
    -Publishers Weekly

  • "A marvelous read. Every chapter taught me something new and unexpected."
    -Tom Bethell, senior editor,
    The American Spectator

  • "The hottest book today is Meltdown, by my friend Tom Woods."
    -Judge Andrew Napolitano, senior judicial analyst,
    FOX News Channel

  • "Should be required reading."
    -Economic Affairs (London)

  • "Woods, one of the best classical liberal [libertarian] scholars of his generation, has once more placed us in his debt with this lucid and tightly argued book."
    -David Gordon, The Mises Review

  • "Tom Woods is one of my dearest allies in the struggle against wrong-headed and dangerous economic policy."
    -Peter Schiff

Inflation, Deflation, and Money

I made this video in response to Rick Santorum’s claim that price inflation occurred under the gold standard in the U.S., and that inflation is necessary for economic growth.

Here’s the Santorum video I was referring to:

On inflation, and money in general, there is no getting around Murray Rothbard’s  What Has Government Done to Our Money? and The Case for a 100 Percent Gold Dollar, which can also be listened to.

On deflation, I recommend the following sources:

Articles and Monograph:
Deflation and Depression: Where’s the Link?” by Joseph T. Salerno
Apoplithorismosphobia” (.pdf) by Mark Thornton. (Thornton coined the term to refer to the fear of deflation.)
An Austrian Taxonomy of Deflation – With Applications to the U.S. by Joseph T. Salerno
“Optimal Monetary Policy” by Jörg Guido Hülsmann
Deflation and Liberty by Jörg Guido Hülsmann; audiobook

Audio (mp3):
On Deflation” by Joseph T. Salerno
The Economics of Deflation” by Jörg Guido Hülsmann
The Gold Standard in Theory and Myth” by Joseph T. Salerno

I cover both inflation and deflation in my books Meltdown and Rollback.

On booms and busts before the Fed, see this video:

For more on these subjects, check out my Learn Austrian Economics resource.