Ludwig Von Mises (1881–1973)

Any commentary, conjecture or theory about the choices people make, of have made at any time in the past, which does not take into consideration the Law of Human Action is simply an interesting opinion. Any insights such opinions may touch on are mere coincidence. The lack of this insight is why our world is crumbling under the inevitable consequences or really bad ideas.

Almost no one would recommend simply reading Human Action from cover to cover...at least at first.

Here's my recommendation presented as commentary on the Table of Contents. if you want to understand Human Action but don't know where to start, this may help.

Introduction - 10 Pages of vital information.
Part One Human Action
Chapter I. Acting Man - 13 Pages of vital information.
Chapter II. The Epistemological Problems of the Sciences of Human Action - 46 pages of SKIP IT!
(Unless you simply cannot for personal reasons. Most people will have no use for this.)
Chapter III. Economics and the Revolt Against Reason - 17 Pages of vital information.
Chapter IV. A First Analysis of the Category of Action - 5 Pages of foundational importance.
Chapter V. Time - 3 pages that most Libertarians cannot grasp.
Chapter VI. Uncertainty - 12 pages that faith based actors cannot grasp.
Chapter VII. Action Within the World - 21 Pages of This is our Reality!

PART TWO ACTION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF SOCIETY
Chapter VIII. Human Society - 34 Pages of read only what you are interested in. Skip the rest.
Chapter IX. The Role of Ideas - 14 Pages of getting it straight what the thinking tools are good for.

PART THREE ECONOMIC CALCULATION - Part Three Destroys Socialist/Progressive economic thought. Skip it if you don't plan to debate Marxists. They'll never get how right you are anyway.
Chapter XI. Valuation Without Calculation - 9 Pages of why Socialism cannot possibly succeed.
Chapter XII. The Sphere of Economic Calculation
Chapter XIII. Monetary Calculation as a Tool of Action - If you decide not to skip Part Three, definitely do NOT skip this chapter. Action is where it's at, Human.

PART FOUR CATALLATICS OR ECONOMICS OF THE MARKET SOCIETY
Chapter XIV. The Scope and Method of Catallactics - I extend the points from Part Four into my everyday life so while this is quite deep I think it is beautiful. It applies to the free market if ideas as well as other markets. It applies to the market in which we all trade the minutes of our lives for one kind of reward or another each and every day.
Chapter XV. The Market - If you know much about economics this is pretty standard except for von Mises' reasoning of morality and freedom.
Chapter XVI. Prices - If you know much about economics this is pretty standard. People who believe in price gouging, subsidies and price controls will not understand this chapter.
Chapter XVII. Indirect Exchange - Too deep unless you are an economy major. SKIP IT!
Chapter XVIII. Action in the Passing of Time - 44 more pages that most Libertarians cannot grasp.
Chapter XX. Interest, Credit Expansion and the Trade Cycle - Too Deep: Skip it!
Chapter XXI. Work and Wages - READ THIS CHAPTER!!! The future civil war will be between net tax payers and net tax consumers, currently all blurred together deliberately as "workers". You need to know this stuff if for no other reason than to give you reason to end zeroeth run debate with Marxists.
Chapter XXII. The Nonhuman Original Factors of Production - How the Earth fits into the choices Humans make. I like it.
Chapter XXIII. The Data of the Market - SKIP IT.
Chapter XXIV. Harmony and Conflict of Interests - All ways government competes for labor and resources is a conflict of interest. EVERYONE needs to know this stuff.

PART FIVE SOCIAL COOPERATION WITHOUT A MARKET - More dedicated deconstruction of Socialism if you are interested in that aspect, read it...it is very good
Chapter XXV. The Imaginary Construction of a Socialist Society
Chapter XXVI. The Impossibility of Economic Calculation Under Socialism

PART SIX THE HAMPERED MARKET ECONOMY
Chapter XXVII. The Government and the Market - EVERYONE needs to know this stuff.
Chapter XXVIII. Interference by Taxation - Taxes bad...skip it. Unless you want to be able to refute the nonsensical flat tax and fair tax proposals that so many people are so ignorantly passionate about.
Chapter XXX. Interference with the Structure of Prices - Interference in markets BAD, skip it. Unless you want to end the zeroeth rung debate over minimum wage laws with Marxists.
Chapter XXXI. Currency and Credit Manipulation - Federal Reserve Bank is BAD, SKIP IT
Chapter XXXII. Confiscation and Redistribution - Force is BAD, SKIP IT.
Chapter XXXIII. Syndicalism and Corporativism -- Current events, if you know it, SKIP IT.
Chapter XXXIV. The Economics of War - War is BAD, SKIP IT.
Chapter XXXV. The Welfare Principle Versus the Market Principle - Welfare devolves humanity and is the OPPOSITE of Charity. EVERYONE needs to know this stuff.
Chapter XXXVI. The Crisis of Interventionism - Interventionism is BAD, SKIP IT.

PART SEVEN THE PLACE OF ECONOMICS IN SOCIETY
Chapter XXXVII. The Nondescript Character of Economics - Everything is economics. Read this.

Chapter XXXVIII. The Place of Economics in Learning - Read the topics that interest you.
1 The Study of Economics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 867
2 Economics as a Profession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 869
3 Forecasting as a Profession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 870
4 Economics and the Universities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 872
5 General Education and Economics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 876
6 Economics and the Citizen ..........................................878
7 Economics and Freedom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 879
Chapter XXXIX. Economics and the Essential Problems of Human Existence - Existence is important, read this.… (more)