The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization (AHI) is excited to announce the completion of the Western Civilization Treasure Room at our headquarters in Clinton. The new room now houses the gift of some “1000 books, primarily focused on Western history and culture” given to the AHI in July by Dr. Robert Hessen of the Hoover Institution.

Western Civilization Treasure Room at the AHI

Dr. Robert Hessen, a specialist in business and economic history, served as a senior research fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, since 1974.  His major publications include Steel Titan: The Life of Charles M. Schwab (1975) and In Defense of the Corporation (1979), which, at present, is in its fifth printing.  He has published widely in scholarly journals and such mainstream media as the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

The books not only cover European and American history, but such specialized topics as property, family, utopias, and totalitarianism as well.  Dr. Hessen’s gift supplements the AHI’s existing collections, which include Liberty Fund’s Library of Liberty, Eugene D. Genovese’s southern history collection, and Richard Erlanger’s military history collection.