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Broke: The Plan to Restore Our Trust, Truth and Treasure
 
 
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Broke: The Plan to Restore Our Trust, Truth and Treasure [Hardcover]

Glenn Beck (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (301 customer reviews)

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Book Description

October 26, 2010

THE FACTS.

THE FUTURE.

THE FIGHT TO FIX AMERICA—

BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.

In the words of Harvard historian Niall Ferguson, the United States is “an empire on the edge of chaos.” Why? Glenn Beck thinks the answer is pretty simple: Because we’ve turned our backs on the Constitution.

Yes, our country is financially broke, but that’s just a side effect of our broken spirit, our broken faith in government, the broken promises by our leaders, and a broken political system that has centralized power at the expense of individual rights.

There is a lot of work ahead, but we can’t move forward until we first understand how we got here. Starting with the American Revolution, Glenn takes readers on an express train through 234 years of history, culminating with the Great Recession and the bipartisan recklessness of Presidents Bush and Obama. It’s the history lesson we all wished we’d had in school. (Did you know, for example, that FDR once made a key New Deal policy decision based on his lucky number?)

Along the way, you’ll see how everything you thought you knew about the political parties is a lie, how Democrats and Republicans alike used to fight for minimum government and maximum freedom, and how both parties have been taken over by a cancer called “progressivism.” By the end, you’ll understand why no president, no congress and no court can fix this problem alone. Looking toward them for answers is like looking toward the ocean for drinking water— it looks promising, but the end result is catastrophic.

After revealing the trail of lies that brought us here, Broke exposes the truth about what we’re really facing. Most people have seen pieces of the puzzle, but very few have ever seen the whole picture—and for very good reason: Our leaders have done everything in their power to hide it. If Americans understood how dire things really are, they would be demanding radical reform right now. Despite the rhetoric, that’s not the kind of change our politicians really believe in.

Finally, Broke provides the hope that comes with knowing the truth. Once you see what we’re really up against, it’s much easier to develop a realistic plan. To fix ourselves financially, Glenn argues, we have to fix ourselves first. That means some serious introspection and, ultimately, a series of actions that will unite all Americans around the concept of shared sacrifice. After all, this generation may not be asked to storm beaches, but we are being asked to do something just as critical to preserving freedom.

Packed with great stories from history, chalkboard-style teachable moments, custom illustrations, and Glenn Beck’s trademark combination of entertainment and enlightenment, Broke makes the case that when you’re traveling in the wrong direction, slight course corrections won’t cut it—you need to take drastic action. Through a return to individual rights, an uncompromising adherence to the Constitution, and a complete rethinking about the role of government in a free society, Glenn exposes the idea of “transformation” for the progressive smokescreen that it is, and instead builds a compelling case that restoration is the only way forward.


Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Being George Washington: The Indispensable Man, as You've Never Seen Him $14.44

Broke: The Plan to Restore Our Trust, Truth and Treasure + Being George Washington: The Indispensable Man, as You've Never Seen Him


Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Glenn Beck, the nationally syndicated radio and former Fox News television show host, is the author of Being George Washington, Broke, The 7, and 7 #1 New York Times bestsellers: An Inconvenient Book, The Christmas Sweater, Glenn Beck’s Common Sense, Arguing with Idiots, The Original Argument, the children's version of The Christmas Sweater, and The Overton Window. He is also the author of The Real America and publisher of Blaze online. Visit GlennBeck.com.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 406 pages
  • Publisher: Threshold Editions (October 26, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1439187193
  • ISBN-13: 978-1439187197
  • Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.7 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (301 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,682 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Glenn Beck, the nationally syndicated radio host and founder of GBTV, is the author of seven previous #1 New York Times bestsellers: An Inconvenient Book, Glenn Beck's Common Sense, Arguing with Idiots, The Christmas Sweater and The Christmas Sweater: A Picture Book, The Overton Window and The Original Argument. His audio original Idiots Unplugged is available now from Simon & Schuster Audio or downloadable from Simon & Schuster Online. He is also the author of The Real America and the publisher of Mercury Ink, a publishing imprint (www.mercuryink.com).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
779 of 918 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Broke, the latest release by Beck, is a surprisingly entertaining text to
be sure. It's engaging, easy to read and designed as an unapologetic
agenda...Beck style. It's also packed full of information that is sure to
create a "teachable moment" among even the most vocal opponent. As a college instructor and business writer, Beck is one of the personalities that tends to draw a lot of attention and followers/critics; for that reason I attempt to stay somewhat up to date with what he/others are doing however, I'm not a "fan" of Beck per se. Although I consider him in the realm of "entertainer" rather than serious economic or political leadership, Beck has done a very real service with the publication of this book if for no other reason than the historical and educational value of the first 2/3 of the book. Also, despite the fact that this is an early review of the book (versus my own personal opinion and/or agenda), please note that this is a verified purchase unlike others. If you want to debate the pro's and con's of the "agenda", the tea party, republicans vs democrats, liberals versus conservatives etc...this is NOT that review.

Basics About the Book

First of all, this is a 400 pages of facts, figures, charts, explanations,
history, examples and action-steps. It contains plenty of resources, ample
visual impact and a clear concise style that encourages the reader to
continue reading. This is the hardcover version with dust-jacket and I'm
happy to say that it was well designed for maximum readability and
audience appeal. Whether you are the type that sits down and reads 400
pages at once or just likes to browse a bit here and there, this book will
work equally well. Plenty of conversation with oodles of tidbits and
factoids.

Who Should Read

Beck Critics - Those that dislike Glenn Beck will not be disappointed - he
provides plenty of fuel to fire-up even the most reserved of his critics.
In fact, even hard core Beck advocates are likely to take issue with a few
items here and there due to "spin" so commonly used by Beck when
interpreting information and data. Like the old adage, there are lies,
d-mnded lies and statistics...the cited data is often used for/against
both sides of a debate, definitions are distorted to the benefit of both
sides and the usual chicanery is alive and well throughout the book. Yes,
I cringed at times but let's face it, that is a daily event for most
Americans that haven't already tuned out entirely. Critics of Beck will
find ample opportunity to criticize the details, the proposed plan of
action and even the man himself. However, there is a good chance that even
the most critical opponent of Beck will actually learn something from this
book! It is interesting and packed full of relevant historical detail as
well as food for thought.

Beck Fans - If you enjoy Beck, this may be his best book to date. It's
packed with information and is unapologetic in the proposed agenda set
forth. It's funny. It's informative. It's entertaining. It's educational.
Without a doubt you will want to buy a copy for yourself, a couple to loan
out to friends and at least one to keep on hand for naysayers and critics.
Unless they are so closed to anything other than their very own agenda,
every thinking person is likely to find something of interest in this
book. Yes, there is slant or angle but that is true of every "side". What
does come through (quite clearly) is the position taken by Beck and his
supporters as well as the reasons and rationale. Agree or disagree, it's
worth reading.

Teens & Those New to Politics, Economics, Tax Issues etc. - Anyone with an
open mind is likely to enjoy this book even if you don't agree...or
actually disagree...with Beck and his conclusions. This would be a great
tool for teens, home schooler and others that would like to initiate an
open conversation about what it taking place (or not) in this nation. The
historical perspective alone is well written, filled with facts and open
enough to spur endless debate.

What is Covered

With over 400 pages packed to the brim, this book provides a big bang for
the buck! It's roughly divided into three parts:

Part I - Part I begins with ancient history, the foundation of this
nation, monetary policy of Hoover, FDR, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush II and
now Obama.

Part II - Covers the crime of the century, the cover up and "the murder
weapon".

Part III - The Plan. This is Becks' call for action, response to critics
and his understanding of the role religion, government, family etc plays
in shaping our nation.

Citations, Resources etc...
Was this review helpful to you?
310 of 399 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This summer Laurence Kotlikoff (an economist at Boston U) published an estimate of the total debts and obligations of the US government: 202 trillion dollars- we ARE broke. The main sources of this gargantuan debt are the major Federal entitlement programs: Social Security and Medicare. The scary facts of Federal financial mismanagement discussed in this book have come out just in time for Halloween.

The most obvious question to those interested in history is how did we get into this mess? Glen Beck proposes some answers in his new book. In 416 pages Beck recounts numerous historical examples (mainly in the first part of this book) of our drift from limited constitutional government, and towards unlimited government- which in our case came to mean unlimited spending. Washington politicians have been promising us more and more over time, mostly in the form of so-called entitlements. Washington politicians have hid their recklessness from us with these unfunded entitlements, well at least from most of us. Economists like Kotlikoff, and also Martin Feldstein, have been warning us about these fiscal imbalances for decades. Now the total sum of these legislated promises is more than American taxpayers can possibly pay. The establishment of entitlements and increased spending in general was done in the name of `progressivism'. Now these supposedly progressive programs threaten future economic progress.

The most obvious question to practically minded people is: how do we get out of this mess? Beck's answer is simple- and highly plausible. Part three argues that we need to return to constitutionally limited government, one where individual states are sovereign, government is decentralized, and individuals bear personal responsibility for their actions. Beck claims that this move involves shared sacrifice, and `shared sacrifice'. We especially need to start taking the 10th amendment seriously. Beck is thinking in terms of what economists call, The Tragedy of the Commons. Nobody cares for a genuine commons because no single person bears significant private costs for depleting common resources. Our Federal commons is effectively broke because everyone takes and tries to avoid contributing. It will never work.

Beck has a reputation as a political partisan; however this book is critical of politicians in both political parties. While it is obvious that Democrats created the biggest fiscal problems (Social Security and Medicare), many Republicans have participated in "the crime of the century". Readers can draw whatever conclusions they want from this book. However, the issues this book addresses are real and important, and Beck has made a serious effort to explain all of this to the general public. This problem is not simply going to go away. America needs major fiscal restructuring, and this will require a move back to limited government.

This book will certainly ignite further controversy, and that's probably a good thing. We are broke, and must do something about our fiscal situation sooner or later. Anyone interested in either American history or America's future should at least look at this book.
Was this review helpful to you?
115 of 154 people found the following review helpful
Glenn's best so far! October 26, 2010
Format:Hardcover
Broke is Glenn Beck's third "text book" styled book. The same high gloss, colored pages are back with all your favorite wit and humor used to tackle serious issues. This book, unlike Beck's others, is much more focused in it's scope. It deals with the past, present, and possible future of the financial state of the Nation.

A great feature in this book are citations that take up over 50 pages! You may not agree with his conclusions, you may say they are reaching a bit, or paranoid, but you definitely can't say that he is simply pulling all this stuff out of thin air!

I'd recommend this book to any Glenn Beck fan, and to anyone who has never actually watched his show. If your entire view point on Beck's character is made up entirely by Stewart and Colbert, you owe it to yourself to find out exactly what it is this guy is saying.
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
More Like an Educational Textbook--Love it!
Broke isn't just straight text. Rather, it is a full color book and its pages are full of diagrams, side notes, etc. Read more
Published 9 days ago by R. Knowlton
EYE OPENING-GOOD LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Eye opening along with a good learning experince. Nothing is cut and dry in our government. The person who you voted for is no longer as soon as their feet hit Washington. Read more
Published 1 month ago by mimi
Not what I expected, and suprisingly fair
I'll admit up front that I came to this book with a lot of preconceived notions and that I expected it to be heavy-handed and one-sided. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Michael Charney
Excellent, Educational and Informative Read
I highly recommend this book. The information shared is broken down into easy to understand bites and well worth the knowledge shared. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jenny Kernan
Dont have it
I dont have this book cant find it. Guess I got tired of the change, so i will give it to the goodwill store if I can find it, waste of money./
Published 3 months ago by G. Vanhuss
Glenn Beck knocks it out of ballpark again
This book should be considered as a textbook in economy classes around the country. Even if economics confuses you, you'll be able to follow along as Glenn explains where America... Read more
Published 3 months ago by chiyankee
Broke? Don't waste your money on this book.
Broke? Don't waste your money on this book. Instead, save your money, go to your public library, and read: Alexander Zaitchik's Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Avid Reader
Lots of fact with proof.
The book is full of facts by refrances and proof; it compairs policys of diffrent administrations. Overall this was a good book, but it is hard to follow or get into in some areas.
Published 5 months ago by MRI
A Thought Provoker
I like to listen to Glen Beck when I get the opportunity, which is rarely. Maybe that is why I enjoy him. Read more
Published 5 months ago by apoem
Beck Misses the Point
Just like on his radio and television programs, Beck correctly identifies the problem, but completely misses the underlying causes and puts forth the absolute wrong solutions. Read more
Published 6 months ago by J. Glenn
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