As editor I wish to acknowledge the assistance of those who made this work possible. First, I would like to thank the acquisitions editor, Amy Farranto, who actively encouraged our project. Amy also provided editorial comments that helped improve most of the contributions to this volume. We can only hope that the sales of this work will justify her faith in our collective endeavor. Jeff Taylor of Dordt College, Jesse Merriam of Loyola University of Maryland, and David Gordon of the Ludwig von Mises Institute also contributed useful feedback; and all of our essays benefited from their careful readings. I would like to acknowledge the boldness of those who wrote for this anthology, particularly those who submitted truly edgy criticisms. The spirited commentaries of the younger writers, who are still making their way up the academic ladder, are especially deserving of honor. I would also like to acknowledge the diligent efforts of my editorial assistant, Andrew Lundner, who patiently formatted each chapter in this volume. Without Andrew’s help, this anthology would have arrived at the press in a far worse technical state.
Finally, an acknowledgment is owed to my wife, who kept telling me to “finish up fast.” Mary believed (perhaps rightly) that my senior years should be devoted to more scholarly work than bashing media personalities. I responded by explaining in self-defense that as a political theorist and historian of political movements, I was dealing with something that lies within my wheelhouse. One can sometimes learn more about a subject from examining partisan popularizers than from investigating towering thinkers. Despite disagreement about this project, because of Mary’s nagging and Amy’s reminders, it was eventually finished.