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)

Great book!

Good read! He makes many good points and possible solutions on the problems we face.

An interesting spin on today's leadership

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

It was quite informative about governments and the many things they do to manipulate money and markets.I think we would all be upset if we knew the kinds of things that are being done to our monetary system.

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

How the government was doing simulations and using financial experts to guide them.The many technical facts,which were sometimes hard to follow.At least you can always go back and rewind.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Since the charecters in this book were all financial instruments I think the voice was appropriate for the book.

Do you think Currency Wars needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

It is quite comprehensive by itself.I don't feel the author left anything for future writing.

Any additional comments?

Obama is applying this stuff right now with Iran and the oil embargo.Perhaps the U.S. has finally figured out it can't continue to pour money into the military which isn't financially sound.Americans have to deal with all the hyper inflation created by the printing of money and along with that jobs are being replaced by computers.The American leaders need to be financially savvy.We have lost our edge.

Astounding

The information shared in this book is astounding. So much that the average person never knew. Worth the time spent.

Excellent read

this is a well written book. it was very easy to understand and makes the reader aware of what is going on behind the distractions in the economy. the books allows one to dig deeper into learning more about the economy.

Scary - good

The information contained in JR'S book is important enough that each person over the age of 15, in the USA, should read it. Many of us have an instinct about banking, the FED, Treasury, and global monetary manipulation but JR'S work pulls it together so I can grasp the whole picture. Now what to do with the new information? Yikes!

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.

As exciting as a movie

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

No, print is better because of the high quantity of information to follow. This surely is a book that must be read with a pen and a paper to take notes.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The description of the war game is very catch - It would make a great movie.

Proxy wars of modern era

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

Yes. Anyone interested in understanding and making sense of financial events and economic reasoning behind them should find this extremely beneficial read.

The book introduces the readers to the veiled wars on the financial systems of the modern world being waged in the boardrooms of governments.

What did you like best about this story?

The depth and historical references of the story.

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

Yes. Though it gets a little heavy sometimes.

good perspective on money

this book is a good perspective on how the Federal Reserve should handle money. I also like the theories about returning to the gold standard

another book that really makes you think

the role of central banks and Fiat currencies is one of the more difficult topics to understand but even a Layman can grass the idea that was probably used all the bullets we have available to deal with emergencies. I'll be anxious to see how mr. Trump deals with this scenario.