David Harvey’s A Short History of Neoliberalism is one of the best, if not the best, short introduction to the origins and nature of neolibearlsim. It’s concise and easy to read.
There is a talk he did on it on Youtube in five parts. The first is above.
The Junius Blog 
David Harvey’s history of neoliberalism is not a history, since he ignores the relationship between classical liberalism and neoliberalism. Is the latter a logical extension of the former or a distorted version of it? What are the parallels and non-parallels between the likes of Richard Cobden and John Bright, on the one hand, and contemporary proponents of free trade on the other? Harvey ignores these questions and hence fails to address the most important question of all: What can we, the socialist opponents of neoliberalism, learn from the Chartists’ struggles against the free traders of their day? In considering this question, I hope that Harvey does not have recourse to the specious argument that Marx ‘supported’ free trade.
Alec Abbott
For a criticism of David Harvey’s standpoint, see ‘Modern-day Kautskyism’.
http://www.rosclar.webspace.virginmedia.com