Currency Wars

The Making of the Next Global Crises

By: James Rickards

Narrated by: Walter Dixon

Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1971, President Nixon imposed national price controls and took the United States off the gold standard, an extreme measure intended to end an ongoing currency war that had destroyed faith in the U.S. dollar. Today we are engaged in a new currency war, and this time the consequences will be far worse than those that confronted Nixon. Currency wars are one of the most destructive and feared outcomes in international economics. At best, they offer the sorry spectacle of countries' stealing growth from their trading partners. At worst, they degenerate into sequential bouts of inflation, recession, retaliation, and sometimes actual violence. Left unchecked, the next currency war could lead to a crisis worse than the panic of 2008.Currency wars have happened before-twice in the last century alone-and they always end badly. Time and again, paper currencies have collapsed, assets have been frozen, gold has been confiscated, and capital controls have been imposed. And the next crash is overdue. Recent headlines about the debasement of the dollar, bailouts in Greece and Ireland, and Chinese currency manipulation are all indicators of the growing conflict.As James Rickards argues in Currency Wars, this is more than just a concern for economists and investors. The United States is facing serious threats to its national security, from clandestine gold purchases by China to the hidden agendas of sovereign wealth funds. Greater than any single threat is the very real danger of the collapse of the dollar itself.Baffling to many observers is the rank failure of economists to foresee or prevent the economic catastrophes of recent years. Not only have their theories failed to prevent calamity, they are making the currency wars worse. The U. S. Federal Reserve has engaged in the greatest gamble in the history of finance, a sustained effort to stimulate the economy by printing money on a trillion-dollar scale. Its solutions present hidden new dangers while resolving none of the current dilemmas. While the outcome of the new currency war is not yet certain, some version of the worst-case scenario is almost inevitable if U.S. and world economic leaders fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors.

©2011 James Rickards (P)2011 Gildan Media Corp

Critic reviews

"[Rickards] presents a compelling case for his views and offers thought-provoking information for library patrons. This is a must-read book." ( Booklist)

Eye opening!

This is a well researched and informative book for anyone looking to understand our global monetary system as well as domestic monetary system. It conveys lots of information in a very understandable context. Well worth the price!

very insightful

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

Good book well presented. A little slow at times but well worth the time to listen to it all.
puts a good perspective on how out of control our government is and how they are playing with our future.
Would recommend reading tis book to anyone who wants a better understanding of our current financial situation.

Sage advice

Sage advice for central bankers looking for options. Options exist for those looking to preserve economic stability. Thanks Jim.

More and more relevant

Rickards opens with national security war game where China and Russia challenge the petrodollar by issuing a new gold backed currency. Amazing how prescient that old war game remains. Now consider that qaddafi was about to launch a gold backed African currency just before Libya's Arab spring (read CIA-funded Muslim Brotherhood mercenary invasion).
AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY

Eye opening, very interesting.

If you could sum up Currency Wars in three words, what would they be?

Interestingly eye opening

Who was your favorite character and why?

no characters in this story

Have you listened to any of Walter Dixon’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

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

Pst ...... see the New power war

Any additional comments?

foll owes a very well thought through path of using power of mind rather than strength of body and we the Public do we notice any of this.

Concerning

Any additional comments?

This book was an eye opening experience. When I heard about currency devaluation before reading this book I always thought about other countries being guilty of it not ours. Our country needs to get back to its roots and stop depending on academics to guide our financial system. If we are not thoughtful about controlling derivatives, leverage, printing of money and derogation of gold we may find the dollar obsolete. More people need to educate themselves so we can take a stand and demand real changes.

Class is in session for Keynesian Economics

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

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.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

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.

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

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.

The best audio book I've ever listened to.

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

Currency Wars is the best audio book that I have every listened to. The performance by Walter Dixon is spectacular and I intend on searching for other narrations by him. The content by James Rickards was exactly what I was looking for since my formal trainings were outside the field of finance, banking, and economics.

Great explanation of capital markets.

Will take a bit of time to digest ideas. Overall excellent detail and analysis by some of the most sophisticated people in the world.

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.