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Rating  - Seeing things as they really are rather than as we'd like them to be
A prognosis most Americans have not wanted to hear for decades (until now when sadly the disease can no longer be ignored). Philosophical but easy to read for anyone willing to expend a little thought/effort, and read with an open mind. Almost everone who reads it will find something offensive to their perceptions of the world we live in, but that's the point. Some might see this as gloom & doom but it's excellent at cutting through perceptions to expose realities; and perhaps more important how reality and perceptions so easily and stealthily diverged from one another.
I don't agree with every cause and effect or conclusion but overall Bonner is spot on. As a treatise to show the ill effects of blind trust, overreaching government, misleading press, ignoring history and human frailities - this would make excellent reading in HS or at least college where we want to teach that it's not just OK to challenge conventional wisdom and leaders, but that our long term freedoms rely on us doing so.
Rating  - Rambling and repetitive
Bonner can turn a phrase but his arguments get old after about half way through. The book is also dated. Instead of this one, try "Mobs, Messiahs, and Markets," where he has an outstanding writing partner in libertarian journalist Lila Rajiva. It is much better written on every level (especially if you like savage humor) and speaks to the current crisis in a very sophisticated but accessible way.
Rating - Who was surprised?
I just finished the book in time to turn on the news that my bank, WaMu, has been seized and sold in one motion. Now the boys in Washington are telling us that they were caught by surprise and have to craft a solution that needs to be passed in days if not hours. President George "Chicken Little" Bush has appeared to tell us that we will face the fires of hell if we don't pass his (and his cronies) best guesses at a solution. Hmmm, WMDs anyone?
Bonner and Wiggin predicted the whole thing well in advance and since I don't subscribe to the divine revelation theory of economic analysis it is clear to me that the situation was clear to others as well. Evidently none of those people were at the SEC or in goverment until yesterday. Glad they could show up but I am seriously frightened by what they might do now that they are belly up to the bar.
We, as a people, have got to get educated and yesterday would have been a good day to start. This book is an example of the information that is available. It is up to us to begin to us it.
Bonner and Wiggin recommend gold but that is clearly indicated to be a strategy available to the less connected and less sophisticated investor. For the savvy folks who are in Martha Stewarts phone tree, they recommend investments in companys in contrast to stocks. The company performance is the criteria, not the stock and they require different approaches that are explained in the book. The basic difference is the amount of effort and the methodology for investment. Personally that phone tree looks pretty good to me...
Good luck everyone.
Rating - Economics with a Flair of Irony
I love this book. I must have read it thru ten times already.
Don't let the title scare you. Bonner and Wiggin bring a dull subject to life with an irreverent but refreshing take on history.
"Would the nation be better off if Lincoln had not slaughtered so many Southerners?" they ask. "Would world history have been worse if Wilson had not meddled in World War 1."
Political correctness is cast aside. Party propaganda is ignored. National heroes get skewered. "The most popular American presidents were those who stole most beautifully," they intone, describing the logic of democratic larceny. These guys love to poke fun at pompous politicians.
The authors do get serious. After relating the rise and demise of past empires, they report that America is headed for the same fate. She has moved away from her founding principles, away from the freedoms of republic and into the clutches of empire.
With the inexorable rise of the state come delusions of grandeur and pseudo patriotism. Government intrusion crowds out free enterprise. Civil liberties are tossed in favor of fast money. Original thought gives way to corporate cool. History is relegated to the dustbin.
We are consumed with the running of empire. We mind everyone's business but our own. We shred the Constitution for wars without end.
Wave good-bye to the American Republic. Say hello to the Empire of Debt.
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