don't be misled

You might think from the title that this author get's competitive devaluations and the race to the bottom, the role of gold, Austrian economics and economic freedom, but don't be misled, he doesn't. His solution is a bigger power structure, because the smaller national power structures got corrupted. Of course this would never happen if you stack an even bigger power structure on top of that (who would try to influence them?). So basically he is a new world order shill, angling for a job in the new 1984 world power structure.
Less power is the answer, not more. Less people who decide for more people is not the answer. Everyone their own ruler, no slave/master relation ships.

50 people found this helpful

Must read, listen too!

Would you consider the audio edition of Currency Wars to be better than the print version?

Same reason I listen to most books. I can get educated driving to work or doing yard work.

What did you like best about this story?

In an age of uncertainty, especially for investors, Mr. Rickards gives it to you straight, you can't miss a word he says. No fluff, just amazingly good information. If you want an education in currency this is it.

Which scene was your favorite?

He explains currency events regarding the depression.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

Too many to name. The fact that he goes into the history of world wide currency's really pulls it all together for the reader/listener. It was like a road map of the past, present & future economic events layed out in front of me.

Any additional comments?

This book is on my top 3 favorite, I'm over 50 & read/listen to several a week. That say a lot.

24 people found this helpful

Take the Blue Pill...

Don't read this book if you can't handle the truth.

Sounds sobering, doesn't it?

Well, I mean it. This is an excellent study of our nation's coming crisis, backed by facts and solid analysis. It will illuminate you. It will scare you. Why, because it's not fiction. This is quietly and slowly happening around us.

Writers try to capture this kind of disaster in novels. It makes good money in the literary biz. "I'll write a novel about America's financial collapse!" And they write. And they fall short. Even if it sells.

Unfortunately, they have very little understanding of what has HAPPENED to get the U.S. to where it financially is today. Consider this: We're printing and flushing $85 billion worthless US dollars a month into its already crippled economy, facing a "Race to the Bottom" currency war with other major nations. At the same time, nations and central banks are doing everything they can to hold back the price of gold, while quietly getting as much of it as they can in their coffers before currencies fail.

This is engaging and well-written. How? You couldn't get a better unbiased expert.

As a commodities broker who has dealt daily with these issues for over a decade, I can tell you that this book is not only factual, its extremely ACCURATE. Rickards, a lawyer with over thirty-five years of financial experience on Wall Street, has often counseled and worked for the Feds. He was hired by the U.S. to put together a system to provide advanced economic warnings and operations to avert economic terrorism against the U.S. (and did this successfully before and during 9/11). He's testified on the Hill numerous times. Look him up. His credentials are incredible.

In 2005, that system successfully warned of a pending disaster on the horizon. He presented the evidence to the Feds, and they rejected it. Why? Because he cited THEM as the problem.

Well, we all know what happened in 2008.

That same system now warns of a MUCH greater economic nightmare. And the culprits?

Once again, we're doing it to ourselves.

Want to know more? Maybe not. You've got to want to pull your head out of the sand on this one. You want an excellent read that pulls no punches, keeps you on the edge of your seat with hard facts and a good story that most fiction writers would kill for?

This is very much like the Matrix, and you have to choose the blue pill or the red pill. Take the red pill, and you go back to sleep, and forget about all this. Take the blue pill, and you get the real story behind the facade, the reality of our fragile economy.

Take the blue pill.

17 people found this helpful

Should Be Required Reading

This is an amazing book. It begins like a spy novel and then takes you through the history of the demise of the gold standard and the rise of central banking. Rickards then explains why the complexity of the current world makes Bernanke's social experiment in trying to reflate the economy by printing money extremely dangerous. This book will make you think. It will make you scared. It will make you understand why we are on an unsustainable path and must break up the financial world into smaller and more understandable pieces with currency backed by a real asset.

12 people found this helpful

Outstanding

I'm no economist, but I found this book extremely insightful and level headed. It is very well researched and arguments are clearly articulated with plenty of examples that demystify concepts that have been deliberately obscured by governments and the banking industry. It's one of those books that, if you don't already know too much about the subject, can radically alter the way you understand the global economy.

10 people found this helpful

Necessary Information for Middle Class America

Would you listen to Currency Wars again? Why?

The Dollar effects every American's quality of life yet few of us understand how. This book increased my understanding yet I had to be patient with some of the segments due to information overload. I gained more understanding about the Federal Reserve and political polices. Most importantly new understanding on how the Dollar along with other currencies have been intentionally manipulated through out history and why it causes more problems than it solves. This book is for learning.. no so much for pleasure. But I agree is a highly important subject and if more American's would take the time to read/listen to books like it we could get back on the right track.

What other book might you compare Currency Wars to and why?

Rich Dad's Guide to Investing in Gold and Silver by Mike Moloney. Why??? For the history of money, currency and fallen Empires. Wealth cycles and the transfer of wealth.

8 people found this helpful

Great book, lives up to the hype

There were many compelling aspects to the book. I most enjoyed the chapters where Mr. Rickards discusses the prior currency wars in detail and provides time frames for the beginning and end of them. The interaction of various countries after some currency or exchange rate alteration is very interesting and helps explain global reactions during those periods. The impact exchange rates and interest rates have on the world is truly incredible. There is also a very compelling assessment of the current currency war that is now unfolding. This is a must read for anyone interested in international currency interactions, monetary policy and history, and current events in finance.

8 people found this helpful

Thouroughest (audio ?) book on Currency politics

Where does Currency Wars rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Not a word of the audiobook lacked in relevance : historical, analytical and prospective avenues are all explored in a conspicuous and documented way.It's a great book where non specialists will derive a thorough education and specialists could be forced into insightful paradigm shifts.The performance was sober but not monotonous, which is very fitting for a work of such depth.

7 people found this helpful

Hawkish view of the Fed and the Dollar's future

I read this book because of a recommendation on Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Radio show. It offers a unique perspective on the role of currency manipulation throughout history and a possible catastrophic outcome of current manipulation by central banks. This book is designed to instill fear in the reader and in so doing, is a captivating read. I wish, however, that it offered more insight on what an individual investor could do to hedge against the collapse of the dollar as predicted by the author. Instead it is focused more on the actions of central banks and governments.

4 people found this helpful

GOLDEN GOOSE

“Currency Wars” is a disturbing book because it conjures a wolf to blow your house down whether made of brick or straw. James Rickards is telling us the sky is falling because we are in a war that cannot be won without returning American dollar$ to a gold standard. The argument is that returning to a gold standard will create a level playing field for currency that will stabilize the economy and break down barriers to free trade; i.e. not free trade exactly but regulated trade. Somehow, currency backed by gold will be more stable than the full faith and credit of a government—really?

With gold at $1600 per ounce, if the dollar were pegged to gold, the value of gold would jump by a factor of 5 or maybe 10 so the rich can get richer and the middle class and poor can go fish.

Rickards argues that America has fought two currency wars in its history and is now in the middle of its third war; using weapons that cannot defend America from an economic collapse. He believes Bernanke misreads a primary cause of the depression; Rickards believes Bernanke is steering the U.S.’ economy into a ditch. Rickards argues that “quantitative easing” is a road to hyper-inflation and economic calamity because it artificially stimulates the economy with newly printed money that has no intrinsic value. Rickards suggests that the Euro crises are examples of currency instability and unpredictability in many battles being fought in the currency wars. For example, his assessment is that political and economic interests of China and Germany are the only glue that keeps countries like Greece from economic collapse.

Rickards is an attorney and an economist. That makes him capable of structuring an argument about the economy with more credibility than a bumbling blogger. However, to this bumbler, Rickards’ arguments are specious. First, other economists disagree with Rickard’s considered argument about the gold standard, Ben Bernanke for one. Second, what evidence is there that one country’s decision to return to a gold standard will reduce economic conflict among nations?

Currency wars are real but America has fought them before with results that have made it the bully of the world. Maybe America needs to learn how to be a little more humble rather than gamble on a currency play that has as much chance of causing as curing world economic collapse.

4 people found this helpful