Good ideas are worth reviving. Twenty years ago there was a small publishing house called Cobden Press that specialized in rare, out-of-print titles of interest to libertarians. But some of the works printed were classics. Titles included A Defense of Liberty by Oliver Brett, Liberalism by Ludwig von Mises, Conceived in Liberty (4 vols) by Murray Rothbard, Words that Won the War by Mock & Larson, Radical Libertarianism by Jerome Tuccille and others. Some of these reprints can cost over $100 per book in the used market.

     So along with the original publisher, Jim Peron, ISIL is reviving the Cobden Press logo and bringing back into print rare libertarian classics. In addition the new Cobden Press will be expanding into new works and will include fiction as well as non-fiction in its catalogue. To reduce inventory costs, we will employ modern on-demand printing.

    Work has begun to reprint several books from the old Cobden Press catalogue. One of the first on the drawing board is the Wordsworth Donisthorpe hard-to-find book Law in a Free State. It was first published in 1895 and then was reprinted almost a century later by Cobden Press. The new edition will be retypeset.

     Also on the agenda is a reprint of another Cobden Press early title, David Osterfeld's hard-core Freedom, Society and the State. The original publisher had allowed the work to go out of print and Osterfeld allowed Cobden Press to reprint it. We will be working with an original manuscript, and the new edition will solve the typesetting problems that plagued the original edition.

     Also out of print for 23 years is the excellent introductory book Liberty Reclaimed by 1984 Libertarian vice-presidential candidate Jim Lewis and Jim Peron. Jim Lewis unfortunately passed away when he was working with Jim Peron on a new book. The new edition of Liberty Reclaimed will not only be updated and expanded, but will include excerpts from the new book that was never completed because of the death of Mr. Lewis. The original Liberty Reclaimed sold almost 50,000 copies in the first few months, and many will be happy to see it back in print.

     Many libertarians were inspired by the fictional works of Ayn Rand or Robert Heinlein and others. And while such fictional works created millions of libertarians, no one is aggressively seeking out and publishing new libertarian fiction. We plan to publish novels as well as collections of short stories by different authors. Anyone who has a completed work with a libertarian theme, who is looking for a libertarian publisher, is encouraged to contact us at the email address below.

     Any budding Hayeks or Friedmans out there, who have a non-fiction work that they would like considered for publication are also encouraged to contact us by email. Please don't call the ISIL office as you won't be dealing with the right people if you do.

     The focus of Cobden Press will be one of ecumenical libertarianism. That is, it will cover many topics of interest to libertarians, including titles not explicitly libertarian in nature. Nor will it be exclusively committed to any specific kind of libertarianism. It will include books advocating limited government and anarcho-capitalism, books with Objectivist leanings, and those that take a more Hayekian approach.

     Books will be available for ordering on-line. And one other bonus of the Cobden Press label is that what profits there are go to further the promotion of libertarian ideas. If you want more information, have questions, or have manuscripts you would like to submit, contact . . . CobdenPress@hotmail.com