Introduction

The founder of Liberty Fund, Pierre Goodrich, was active in the Great Books Foundation from 1947 until the mid-1950s when differences of opinion with the other foundation members forced a separation. Goodrich had a number of views which differed from the other members of the program. Firstly, he was keen to include non-western authors in his list, especially ancient Indian, Chinese, and medieval Arab authors. Secondly, he took the view that "not all ideas were created equal", most notably the idea of liberty which he favored especially highly.

Over the years Goodrich drew up a number of lists of Great Authors and their works, the most important being the list of names which are inscribed on the limestone walls of the Goodrich Seminar Room in the Lilly Library at Wabash College, Indiana. The names of these writers and their works form one of the core groups of texts which are part of the Online Library of Liberty.

For more information about what authors and books Goodrich most highly regarded see the following:

• a virtual recreation of the Goodrich Seminar Room at this site
•  a virtual recreation of the Goodrich Seminar Room at another site
• Other Authors Recommended by Pierre Goodrich
• a discussion of Goodrich's involvement with the Great Books foundation in Dane Starbuck's book The Goodriches: An American Family (2001) in Chapter 22 Associations and Causes