The Great Crash Ahead

Strategies for a World Turned Upside Down

By: Harry S. Dent

Narrated by: Harry S. Dent

Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

From the best-selling author of The Roaring 2000s and The Great Depression Ahead comes a work that looks forward, showing listeners how to weather the storm in this new economy that is going to get much worse in the years ahead.

In his most recent New York Times best-selling work, The Great Depression Ahead, Harry S. Dent predicted the debt crisis that would ensue in the wake of the government’s failed stimulus plan. In addition to offering prescriptions for the current crisis, in The Great Deflation Ahead Dent scrutinizes some of the most dearly held assumptions of economic theory and practice and offers prescriptions for the current crisis. With incisive critical analysis and historical examples, Dent lays bare how such constructs - for instance, the belief in a rational market or of the rational consumer - led to the formation of the great bubble that burst so spectacularly in the crash of 2008.

Dent’s investment advice sees no place to hide in what he calls this wintry economic season, but it’s not all doom and gloom; the only way out is preserving your capital and creating cash flow - avoiding the sort of high risk, high profit investment schemes that sunk the world economy - so that you can profit from “the greatest sale on financial assets of a lifetime.” The Great Deflation Ahead is a level headed, thoroughly reasoned message to show listeners how they can survive during this challenging period so that they can thrive when the economy slowly returns to normal.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2011 H.S. Dent Publishing. All rights reserved. (P)2011 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Dent brings more very convincing analysis on the unbearable debt that is weighing down the US and world economy. But more important, he brings the unique lens of demographics to show how the Fed's stimulus plan is doomed to fail with the rising savings and slowing spending of the massive Baby Boom generation. A must read book for prospering in the inevitable debt crisis ahead." (John Mauldin, 4 times New York Times best-selling author of Endgame and financial newsletter publisher of Thoughts from the Frontline and Outside the Box)

“I have watched Harry Dent's unique demographic approach to the economy and his forecasts for over 20 years. He has seen most of the key economic changes way ahead of most. In fact, he forecast the current economic crisis 20 years ago! He has spoken at many of my events around the world and has helped many prepare for the unprecedented economic challenges we are facing today. But perhaps the best thing about Harry is his very human, understandable and common sense approach to economics.” (Anthony Robbins, Entrepreneur, Author and Peak Performance Strategist)

“You can't accuse Harry Dent of being a wimpy thinker. His new book is full of confident analysis and bold predictions. Whether he will be right about all of it, who can say? But his core theme is fascinating and provocative; his book is a delight.” (William Bonner, President and CEO of Agora Inc.; author of Dice Have No Memory and Empire of Debt)

Informative But I Already Know Most of It

What made the experience of listening to The Great Crash Ahead the most enjoyable?

Things I didn't know in the book - about toxic chemicals in common personal and household products, bit about the Spelling family dirty laundry, bit about author's family history and his reaction/path to growing up wealthy with a lavish lifestyle.

What does Harry S. Dent bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He's an excellent narrator.

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

No.

Any additional comments?

Personally, the book disappointed me because I know most of what is in the book. I am dying to read Robbins' earlier books, but, they aren't on Audible, except for the 'Healthy At 100' book which I 100% loved and found to be newly informative. This book had many tips and information I already know. For instance, pigeon holing types of spenders (I find pigeon holing annoying), recommending ways to save money and live greener like carpooling, hand-me downs, spend less, live in a smaller house, etc.

The Missing Link

Now all the pieces fit together. Dent tells the story that the main stream will not

Good read(lsiten)

Lots of into in the book it presents a different idea to what the the gold bugs are harping on about now.

I would have like a few more specifics about exactly what is limiting the fed / treasury from inflating themselfs out of this debt bubble. Sure it will have horrible consequences. But does that mean they won't do it?

What is stopping the fed from further expanding its balance sheet and buying huge amounts of bonds?

Very interesting insight and analysis by Dent

Only time will tell how correct the information inside this audiobook are, as nature has always have ways of correcting itself. Although, having an insight on the great crash ahead would prepare you better for the worst case situations in this economic times. The collected data and analysis was done very interestingly and the audio was very persuasive of the subject. The only drawback to this audiobook is referencing to charts which are not available with the audiobook version.

Blinding Glimpse of the Obvious ("BGO")

Like Reinhart and Rogoff's best seller, "This Time is different," the author and narrator, Harry S, Dent, makes constant reference to charts and graphs. Audiobook listeners, in the main, purchase the format because they do not wish to read text or study graphics. Rather, audiophiles wish to consume content in a mode that allows for other contemporaneous activity like walking, driving, etc.

The foregoing aside, this just isn't a very informative book and it falls woefully short of preparing the listener for the difficult times ahead. Hello: Who doesn't know that globe is awash in debt and low birth rates will make any recovery quite painful? Sadly, for Mr. Dent, he makes some intermediate term predictions on fixed income investing that are already incorrect as of this writing. Lucky for current hedge fund king, Ray Dalio of Bridgewater, that he understands fixed income investing and that enabled him to earn $4 billion in 2011.

After recovering from my disillusionment with this cherry-picked data packaged into a book, I researched Mr. Dent's record and came across these winners in Dan Dorfman's column in the Huffington Post on August 10, 2010:

Citation 1: "In fact, for all of 2011, he believes we could see an astounding 10% retreat in the GDP, which sharply contrasts with consensus expectations of GDP growth for the year of a shade over 3%. Further, he sees the economic weakness spilling over into 2012."

Citation 2: "Before dashing for the hills, it should be duly noted that Dent, like many of his investment brethren, has had his fair share of forecasting blunders. One of his more memorable goofs was his 2006 forecast that the Dow would hit 40,000 in 2009."

Perhaps most offensive is Mr. Dent's shameless promotion of his other commercial endeavors. And finally, Mr. Dent, who claims to make no political judgments, loses all credibility when he meanders into environmental stances, invokes Thomas Friedman's twaddle and pounds the table for a restoration of the US personal income tax rates under President Clinton.

Had I known what I know now, I would not have wasted either my time or my money. Clearly, Mr. Dent is operating on the broken clock theory and that he will be right on some things in the fullness of time. Yet, being too early is the same as being wrong in investing.

WAY out of date!

No wonder you’re giving it away for free! It’s way out of date, made erroneous predictions, and was painful to listen to.

Couldn't Get Into

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

This book just did not click with me, the facts as laid out by the author were hard for me to agree with. I know many listen to him and he has been right on several occasions, but I just don't see the things going the way he has stated.