I just discovered that R.W. Bradford, publisher of the libertarian magazine Liberty died in December while I was away in Israel. I've always enjoyed Liberty, and published a couple of pieces there. With Reason Magazine lately going off on many counter-cultural and otherwise uninteresting tangents, Liberty was often the only place or a one could, for example, find intelligent reviews of the latest libertarian-themed books. Liberty has waned in imported to the libertarian movement over time as blogs have provided a new, cheap, and immediate outlet for libertarian writers. But for quite a while, Liberty was the only outlet I knew of where (mostly) non-strident libertarians regularly discussed and debated important issues, and one could get the latest, objective news on libertarian goings-on.

Anyway, I close with a brief tribute from a good friend of mine and avid reader, who sent me the following email:

I just found out two days ago that R. W. Bradford died. I find myself surprisingly saddened by this--after all, I never met him and have only the vaguest idea of what he looks like. He has been one of my favorite writers for the last fifteen years or so.... I have many "favorite" writers. All of them have achieved a certain amount of acclaim--except Bradford, who is very obscure. I'm not sure that I have ever come across the work of a writer who (in my estimation) writes (wrote) so well yet remains so obscure.