Legal Commentary

Elmer Kelton, The Time It Never Rained:

By Todd Zywicki

Over the summer I had an opportunity to read several great books.  Most of them are well-known and there?s not much I can do to add to their lore (I especially enjoyed Graham Greene The Power and the Glory and Evelyn Waugh?s A Handful of Dust).  But one that I only stumbled across recently, and which I absolutely loved, is Elmer Kelton, The Time It Never Rained.  The book is about many things, but among others, it has a very strong Randian flavor to it in the protagonist?s individual integrity and unwillingness to compromise his principles to take government drought aid.  It is also, incidentally, an excellent economic analysis of the folly of government agricultural programs, including among others, how it spawns subsidy-farming and horrible environmental policies by agribusiness.  More than that, it is a terrifically written book with a great literary style that captures (I assume) the laconic dialogue of a longtime Texas rancher.  This book should be better-known in free market circles than it currently seems to be.

I understand that a lot of Kelton?s other books are really great as well, so recommendations on what I should read next are much appreciated.

Full post as published by The Volokh Conspiracy on August 24, 2010 (boomark / email).