Acknowledgments

THIS WORK WOULD NOT have been possible without the initiative of Lew Rockwell, who encouraged me to write a Mises biography and then provided relentless support when the project grew bigger and bigger, far beyond our initial plans. It would not have been possible without the financial support of numerous dedicated men and women, and in particular of those patrons who are mentioned on the front pages of this book. Many other persons have helped and encouraged me in the course of my work. I have been especially blessed with generous aid from Mrs. Bettina Bien Greaves, who at the beginning of my research put me on the right tracks and made available to me the materials she had inherited from the Mises estate, as well as her own biographical research on Ludwig von Mises. She has also readily made available the wonderful collection of photographs of Ludwig and Margit von Mises that have been in her care. I gratefully acknowledge friendly help from the staff of the Special Archive for Historico-Documentary Collections in Moscow: Vladimir Kuselenkov (director), Vladimir Kurutajev (vice-director), Rostislav Sokolov (translator), and Natacha Samsonova (archivist). Similarly, I received liberal on-site support from Herr Magister Siegel, director of the Akademische Gymnasium in Vienna, and from Professor Jeffrey Herbener, custodian of the Mises Archive at Grove City College. I have benefited from the kind assistance of Professor Hans-Hermann Hoppe, who shared with me the archival material he had obtained from the Vienna Chamber of Commerce; of Professor Jesús Huerta de Soto, who shared with me his archival material from the Vienna Staatsarchiv; and of Mr. Ivo Sarjanovich, who researched for me the archives of the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. Many other individuals have graciously pointed out references or provided hard to find material. I should like to thank in particular Mr. Philipp Bagus, Professor Gabriel Calzada Alvarez, Professor Paul Cwik, Dr. Nikolay Gertchev, Dr. Floy Lilly, Dr. Anthony de Jasay, Professor Ralph Raico, Mr. Reinhard Stiebler, Mr. Joseph Stromberg, Dr. Mark Thornton, Professor Shigeki Tomo, Mr. Jeffrey Tucker, and Professor Ki'ichiro Yagi. To the great benefit of my readers, I have enjoyed the services of a competent and efficient editorial team under the leadership of Mr. Jeffrey Tucker, including Mr. B.K. Marcus, Mrs. Arlene Oost-Zinner, Mrs. Judy Thommesen, Dr. David Gordon, Mr. Jule Herbert, Jr., Mrs. Kathy White, and Mr. Harry David. Moreover, I have the honor to acknowledge my debt and immense gratitude to the readers and referees who helped improve the quality of this book, in particular Professor Walter Block, Dr. David Gordon, Mr. B.K. Marcus, Mr. Joseph Potts, Professor Ralph Raico, and Herr Dr. Herbert Unterköfler. Last but not least, I thank my dear wife Nathalie for bearing with me during all the years invested in this project, and for sharing a beautiful life beyond economics and great economists.