'Orthodox Jews of course, do not celebrate Christmas. In this book, Rose Friedman describes how she and Milton Friedman raised their two children, Janet and David, with a Christmas Tree in the home. Friedman wrote extensively of his life and experiences, especially in 1998 in his memoirs with his wife, Rose, titled Two Lucky People. He was also for many years a Trustee of the Philadelphia Society.Īccording to a 2007 article in Commentary magazine, his 'parents were moderately observant Jews, but Friedman, after an intense burst of childhood piety, rejected religion altogether'. He made several visits to Eastern Europe and to China, where he also advised governments. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Friedman continued to write editorials and appear on television. In 1988 he received the National Medal of Science and Reagan honored him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.įriedman is known now as one of the most influential economists of the 20th century.

Ebenstein says Friedman was 'the 'guru' of the Reagan administration'. The companion book to the series (co-authored by Milton and his wife, Rose Friedman), also titled Free To Choose, was the bestselling nonfiction book of 1980 and has since been translated into 14 languages.įriedman served as an unofficial adviser to Ronald Reagan during his 1980 presidential campaign, and then served on the President's Economic Policy Advisory Board for the rest of the Reagan Administration. The Friedmans worked on this project for the next three years, and during 1980, the ten-part series, titled Free to Choose, was broadcast by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). During the same year, Friedman was approached by the Free To Choose Network and asked to create a television program presenting his economic and social philosophy. From 1977 on, he was affiliated with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He and his wife moved to San Francisco, where he became a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. In 1977, at the age of 65, Friedman retired from the University of Chicago after teaching there for 30 years.

Milton friedman free to choose series