End This Depression Now!

By: Paul Krugman

Narrated by: Rob Shapiro, Paul Krugman

Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

The Great Recession that began in 2007 is now more than four years old - and counting. Some 24 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed, and at recent rates of job creation we won’t be back to normal levels of employment until late this decade. This is a tragedy. Do we have to accept it?

"No!" is the resounding answer given by Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman in this call to arms. We have seen this situation before and we know how to fix it; all we lack is the political will to take action. Krugman walks us through the financial crisis that triggered the greatest downturn since the Great Depression and outlines the efforts that have been made thus far.

The way forward is clear: Our priority must be to get ourselves back on the path to growth; every day that we lag behind normal production levels only adds to the astronomical economic loss of this depression. What we need for a rapid, powerful recovery is precisely what we've needed in crises past - a burst of government spending to jump-start the economy. We owe it not only to the unemployed, but to everyone affected by this tragedy to end this depression now.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2012 Paul Krugman (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“An important contribution to the current study of economics and a reason for hope that effective solutions will be implemented again.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“An important contribution to the current study of economics and a reason for hope that effective solutions will be implemented again.” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

"Krugman , winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics, takes an edifying and often humorous journalistic approach to the current economic crisis in this accessible and timely study. Rather than provide a mere postmortem on the 2008 collapse (though relevant history lessons are provided), Krugman aims to plot a path out of this depression. Krugman has consistently called for more liberal economic policies, but his wit and bipartisanship ensure that this book will appeal to a broad swath of readers - from the Left to the Right, from the 99% to the 1%.” (Publishers Weekly)

Listen to this before you vote!

I was quite impressed with this book. I did not agree with everything single thing the author suggests, but the author seems to take great care to both give clear evidence for his position and (which is quite rare) presents and refutes non-straw man arguments against his positions. Krugman does a great job of explaining economic issues with clarity and energy. Having studied the issues I did not learn a lot from this book, but I would recommend it to anyone who wants to better understand the current economic crisis and what could be done about it. I only wish the book was longer and more detailed. This book, in combination with The Big Short, puts this downturn into a clear context regarding what happened and why recovery has been so slow to come.

I recommend looking at the available pdf carefully before listening and referring to the charts as necessary. The narration was excellent making the detailed material actually fun to listen to.

Totally Refreshing!

Where does End This Depression Now! rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 5 all time

What did you like best about this story?

Its common knowledge backed with hard stats

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Totally hated the Narrator, since author Paul Krugman would've been the obvious choice, because he naturally has that wise guy type sarcastic humor

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No! you will def need to break it off in multiple sessions, i prefer them during my long drives

Any additional comments?

Awesome well researched masterpiece, luv it

Too one sided, slow

I expected a diatribe and that is what I got, but even the there are so many unsubstantiated opinions that leaves one asking why not back up your arguments better. One recollection I have is a sentence that the European ministers increased interest rates because of an unfounded fear of inflation. Well these are smart people too. Why were they fearful? What signals were they misreading?

Also fundamentally this whole book comes down to thinking that World War II is a model for everything, and how do we know that this applies today?

Finally the reading was waaaaaayyyyyy too slow and boring and drawn out.

Outstanding and Important

This is an excellent review of economics and the current financial and political situation. It is a must read before you go to the voting booth in November.

Krugman is so clear

I understand more about the financial crisis and the prescription for ending it NOW. Very clear argument and very understandable even in an audio format. Even without charts and graphs the message is so clear. Dr. Krugman's writing is always very clear and direct. I have a little background in Economics so I so appreciate his clear language and argument. Unfortunately, I was left a little depressed as I don't think we have the political will to implement his prescription.

Excellent -- worth your time

If you could sum up End This Depression Now! in three words, what would they be?

hopeful
simple
non-political

What was one of the most memorable moments of End This Depression Now!?

Why it works to spend in a Depression -- i.e., why J.M. Keynes was right

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

a documentary of what we did wrong and what we might still do right....

Everyone in America should read this book

What did you love best about End This Depression Now!?

Krugman clearly spells out why government intervention during recessions is necessary and conservative calls for less government are just wrong and mean spirited and threatening to our democracy.

All Members of Congress should read this.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, because it it economic effects that every voter should understand. The country's economy is of major concern to a majority of voters. They should read the solution that this well respected economist offers.

What politicians offer are sound bytes.

Have you listened to any of Rob Shapiro and Paul Krugman ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I was angry that most citizens will not hear this information.

Any additional comments?

When you finish listening to it, send it to your congressman on a $30 mp3 player and tell them as your representative you expect them to listen and learn.

End This Depression Now

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I certainly would recommend it to several friends. We have a group thinking about economic issues and I want to suggest this book as one we should discuss.

What was one of the most memorable moments of End This Depression Now!?

It didn't exactly have memorable moments as it was not a novel, but his idea that the way to end the depression is with greater government stimulus to get more people working and therefore spending makes all kinds of sense to me. And the author backs up his thinking with studies and visuals that are highly convincing.

What does Rob Shapiro and Paul Krugman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Rob Shapiro read complicated passages clearly. The main advantage for hearing this book rather than reading it was the ability to listen while I'm driving. For study purposes, I may very well buy the actual book.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

This book probably wouldn't lend itself to film-making.

Any additional comments?

I'm excited about Krugman's ideas and want to think about how to spread them to a wider audience.

A provocative idea, worth discussing ...

What did you love best about End This Depression Now!?

Prof. Krugman explains to the general public the basic idea of neo-Keynesian theory. Very provocative y opportune discussion.

What did you like best about this story?

The clarity of the arguments.

Any additional comments?

highly recommended