Mark

Yes, and again and again and again. Very dense with information and the more time that passes, the clearer it becomes that his forecasts are coming true.

This is a sobering book about the reality of the unwinding of the global debt that has accumulated over the last 50-odd years, which both explains how we got there (without pointing political fingers) and describes the road ahead for regions around the world. While Mauldin does his best to end on a high note, the assessment of the dramatic change in how we've been living for the last several decades are alarming even for those who've been trying to keep up with current events. Mauldin explains how the wealth and prosperity of the last several decades was created and how there are few options going forward to preserving the affluence we've been accustomed, at least in the short to mid-term 5-10 years.

The information he provides is useful and when combined with common sense strategies for minimizing debt and asset protection, can be very helpful looking forward.

What I wanted was a good book to follow up one of my favorite reads of the year, The Art Of Racing In The Rain. What I got was all of the crying and torture of the tough parts without the deeper philosophy stuff and with way too few highs. My wife couldn't stand to see me come into the house after listening on my drive home. Heck, she told me to stop reading it several times.

It's well written, but instead of the lead human in the story suffering the most, it's the poor dog that goes from bad situation to bad situation with a handful of good moments. Be prepared for a tear-jerker.

While I knew this was going to be a romance novel, what I didn't know is how damn much I'd enjoy it. Take 50 Shades of Grey, substitute Sebastian Grey with a 1,500 year old dragon and add in a wicked sense of humor by a really talented author and you have the formula for Dragon Bound. It's light, playful, and doesn't take itself too seriously where the Psy-Changeling series sometimes does. While it has some of the same predictability that all romance novels tend to, the ability of the author to be playful and laugh a little really brought this book home for me.

I think I've found a new series.

I'll admit, I wouldn't have even thought about picking this book a year ago before I read The Hunger Games, but I enjoyed that series so much I decided to give myself a little more latitude in my selections and be open to other genres. So in reading this book I had a pretty high bar to compare it to, rating the Hunger Games as a solid 5/5. And while I've heard a movie deal is in the works, I won't be completing the trilogy and I'll be waiting for the movie to see how the story ends.

The strengths--Interesting story line, develops fairly logically, easy to get into the idea (a dystopian Chicago of the future), and lead character is likable.

The weaknesses--I really wanted a lot more from this story than the author could deliver. While some characters are richly developed, others shut me down as their multi-dimensionality is unrealistic and hard to believe. The author's scene descriptions aren't vivid enough for me and don't have the depth and texture I need to be drawn in to the setting. The descriptions of pain and challenge by the lead character didn't work for me. I wish I could do a better job pulling up examples, but I can't; I can just say that I was disappointed in the writing around how she described the sensations and it kept me from really getting sucked in. I need more texture.

Alright, I'll admit it, I'm hooked on the whole series, but this one was definitely the best so far for me. Great passion, a few interesting complications in the story-line, and characters I really enjoyed learning about.

I really enjoy the twists and turns of the power dynamics in this series. It fascinates me and always has me looking for deeper insights while mostly enjoying the fluff, too.

I'll admit, book 3 was the most challenging for me, but this more than made up for it with the passion starting off hot and heavy followed by so many interpersonal hurdles to overcome.

It seems like Rich has had an amazing life, but I wouldn't want to walk a mile in his shoes. His self-centric universe, starting with his high school swimming turned to alcohol-infused blur and was only replaced by an addiction to endurance sports in a life horribly out of balance. While his new addictions seem a lot healthier and safer (for the rest of us on the road), his life is a story of the extremes that had me cringe at both ends of the spectrum. I can see why he turned to alcohol; there were times when I was listening that I thought I could use a drink, too.

Maybe an alcoholic in early recovery looking for a role model would get more out of this book, but I can't even imagine a life lived at his extremes. Coming from a rather middle of the road, middle-aged athlete who occasionally likes a good audiobook for inspiration and motivation, this book wasn't the ticket for me. I found a lot more pleasure reading Born To Run, Ultramarathon Man, Wild (Cheryl Strayed), and even The Art of Racing In The Rain (albeit, I never did develop a taste for kibble). There are plenty of books that inspire me and get me high that don't require me to live at the extremes as the bipolar necessities of life.

I won't argue with him that a plant-based diet can extend life and give you greater health over the course of your life, but sometimes there's no sin in a nice juicy steak and garlic mashed potatoes. If you want a more complete version of the benefits of a plant-based, vegan lifestyle, the documentary, Forks Over Knives is about as good as they come. It's not for everyone, but then again, neither is this book and I'd happily sit through Forks Over Knives over listening to nine hours of Rich Roll talking again.

Well written, well read, but if you're looking for a well rounded perspective of economic theory, this is not the book for you. Rickards was the secretary of treasury during the Clinton administration, so what you get is a 'government can fix it' perspective of economics.

Coming from a relatively libertarian, Austrian economics perspective this was not an easy listen for me, but never the less, I appreciated the perspective of someone who obviously feels passionately about his perspective. What is lacking is the mere mention of any other theory (i.e. Austrian economics) in his 'education' of the audience.

These guys really have drunk the coolaid and believe their own stuff. All interesting in theory, but only time will tell just how long this house of cards can stay standing.

For a blend of entertaining story telling, valuable insights, and motivation, this is a solid performance. If you're listening while driving, make sure your running shoes are in the car because you'll probably pull over and start running at some point. I roughly doubled my weekly mileage after listening to this book. Karnazes is an entertaining story teller who's put up the miles and experience to have some great stories to tell.

Sticking with the genre, probably only second to Born To Run in my eyes and even that is a close race.

Probably the most entertaining moment, which is told at two points in the story, was Karnazes calling for a pizza delivery in the middle of nowhere at midnight somewhere in Napa Valley. When he goes on to explain how he'd eat while running I almost had to pull over I was laughing so hard at the visualization.

Laughed so hard I nearly had to pull over while driving with the visuals. Karnazes includes enough details to draw a picture in your head of the whole scene.

Karrnazes is an incredibly gifted runner and while he downplays this by talking about how he dropped the sport for 15 years between high school and age 30, the book really does provide a lot of motivation for those of us who are less physiologically endowed. Running is such a universal experience that I find it hard to believe anyone wouldn't be inspire to lace up their shoes after giving this a listen.

This book was exhausting to get through for a number of reasons. First off, I didn't know it was going to be an intertwined recounting of racing and a bunch of eco-metaphors and analogies. I'd consider myself a moderate environmentalist and open to new ideas, but the way he wove the stories of a 50 mile race, human physiology, and the health of the planet together was painful at times. I just wanted him to finish one coherent thought before departing off into explaining how the build up of lactic acid was like the build up of CO2 in our atmosphere. If he had only made a couple of departures onto a topic he feels passionately about I would have enjoyed it, but it was two to three departures in every chapter and by the end I was just begging for it to end.

The author and his audience would have been better served with a much shorter book on his running alone or his environmentalism alone. The way the two are brought together simply does not work for the reader. I wouldn't recommend this book to either the ultra-distance runner or the environmentalist.

Not the right reader for this book. The author is writing about a race he did when he was 60 years old, but the author sounds like he's mid-30's at best. While some stories will carry this just fine, in this story the discontinuity of the young voice talking with the words of age and experience was uncomfortable and noticeable.

There are certainly valuable things I took away from this book, primarily regarding running physiology, pacing, and fueling on long runs, but with the challenges presented, I'd recommend looking elsewhere.

Some entertaining and interesting insights, a taste of a bygone era, and yet many of his insights apply as much today as ever before.

I really enjoyed is talk about the Russians. We'll always find an enemy to blame things on, if not the Russians, the terrorists, if not the terrorists, the 'other side of the aisle' (republicans or democrats). It seems we've always needed someone to demonize and blame, it's just the name of "them" that changes.

A good solid reading.

Middle of the pack. There are a lot of things that I strongly disagree with in the book, but I won't argue that it isn't well written and narrated.

I come from a much more libertarian, Austrian economics point of view and while some of the ideas proposed in the book terrify me, it is well written and does provide a logical explanation as to why they think a Kaisian approach is the best solution to our economic challenges that lie ahead.

There are some downright disturbing proposals in this book including the federal subsidy for earners making less than $40k per year to bring them up to a better standard of living. Of course to fund this he proposes things like a 100% tax on any earnings over $500k. While I will agree that the concentration of wealth to a very small segment of the population has led, in part, to our current economic challenges, his solutions fail to really address the size and scope of government, the perils of Europe in their attempts to create a more just economic system, and where the real political power in DC lies. The book is interesting and educational, but I don't for a second think Reich is on the right track with his solutions.