Customer Reviews

The Demise of the Dollar...: And Why It's Even Better for Your Investments (Agora Series)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I read the first edition in early 2006, and it's a little breathtaking how many of its big-picture prognostications have come to pass -- especially the collapse of the housing market and the dramatically shrinking purchasing power of the bills in our wallets. Now, as the dollar tanks to record lows relative to other currencies, and we're reaping the whirlwind of endless money and credit creation by the Federal Reserve, this new (and considerably updated) edition examines where we go from here.

If anything, the historical examples cited ring even more true with the passage of the last two years. And while the outlook going forward is bleak, it is absolutely not hopeless. For anyone who suspects this might be another "goldbug" head-for-the-hills sort of book, rest assured it's not. It concludes with a host of sensible suggestions that, yes, include gold, but also a number of other hedges against a falling dollar that are worth considering as your cash buys less and less every day.

I love the author's ability to explain complex topics in simple ways. The formula he gives for calculating GDP made a number of light bulbs go off in my mind as I truly understood the concept for the first time. This is not to say that I couldn't "explain or calculate GDP" before; it's just that this author's explanation made it so simple that true comprehension was achieved.

The catchy chapter titles and writing style make the book an enjoyable read even though the topic is heavy. While the book starts by painting a gloomy picture and then paints over this gloomy picture with fact after fact that are even more gloomy, he does not leave you there. There is some hope provided in the closing chapters of the book and, in reality, even the gloomy chapters give hope if one considers NOT living and doing the way those chapters describ our lives.

Excellent book to help you understand economics a little better and your economics specifically.

I regretted purchasing the book because I was looking for the author's concrete, systemic suggestions of what to do in a time of the dollar's demise. I was hoping for something like model portfolios or suggested portfolios and felt that in lieu of that the author's emphasis was on why we are in trouble and what the situation is. I was in the market for what to do about it. The other information I can easily find on Austrian School websites.

This book was really poorly written which is unfortunate because the author does seem to have some interesting ideas.

The summary of the book is that the dollar will continue to fall because of the trade deficit, budget deficit, national dept, foreign bond holdings and the fiat basis of the dollar. There is very little content on how to actually invest - and 80&% of it is in the last 10 pages.

The problem is the author with an almost tragic frequency goes from topic to topic and back again. Each time he analyzes the issues a few inches deep. If this was a lucid summary that would have been great, the problem is he frustratingly returns to the same few issues without adding any new depth or perspective. I wanted to throw the book at the wall a few times because I was wasting my time.

This book probably would have been much better as a 10 - 20 page paper.

My advice is to read through the last 10 pages or so at the book store and save your time and money.

I found this book to be a page-turner and a quick read -- just one weekend.

This book is exactly what I wanted. Some reviews complain the book is too deep or not deep enough. That it has too much or too little investment advice. I'd say it's just right. The points are well-substantiated, but not boring, and the investment advice is both broad enough to offer options and targeted enough to be immediately useful.

I found out about it through his free email newsletter, Daily Reckoning. It's a great place to get familiar with his ideas and to help decide whether or not to buy the book.

Wiggin synthesizes historical trends, current news, and forward-looking concepts, all in one neat little package. It tackles a difficult and expansive topic in a way that's accessible and kind of fun. Beyond five stars, I'd rate Demise of the Dollar as a 9.7 out of ten. If you're interested in America's future, I recommend buying this book.

Based on another viewers advice, I read the last chapter #8 that was 30 pages long. This is the real meat of the book for readers looking for how-to ideas. There are some very unique insights and several great ideas to consider how to prosper with the declining dollar, coming inflation, and how to invest short and long term. For example, you can bet against the dollar, the low ongoing Yield's of T-bills, invest in gold and energy, Australia whose natural resources will be needed by many including China, etc. The preceding chapters appear to be more background economic materials though I could be wrong since I did not read them and merely glanced through them.

I purchased this book to hear various points of view on the US and global economy. Having chapters 1 through 4, I skipped to the final chapter 8 where the author finally presents his recommended course of action.

Overall, however, I felt the book was poorly written. It is filled with repetitive and alarmist language, somewhat like you may expect to see on a newscast. I also felt it was insufficiently backed up with references and hard numbers. Much of the text would not be accepted on Wikipedia without those annoying "citation needed" tags.

Long story short, I plan to return my copy to Borders tomorrow and have posted here to register my dissatisfaction.

I wanted to read this book because the topic of the U.S. dollar falling has been all over the news. I like how the author of this book explained the history of how we got off the gold standard and persuaded U.S. trade partners to peg their currencies to the U.S dollar. He argues that the change, which was over 30 years ago, is one cause of economic problems today. The gold standard was a way for countries to fix the value of their currencies based on amounts of gold reserves.

After reading this book, readers can expect to feel scared. For example, he says:

"The consequences [of falling U.S. dollar] will be huge declines in the stock market, savings becoming worthless, and the bold market completely falling apart."

"As the value of the dollar falls, that dollar will no longer be worth a dollar; it will be worth only pennies on the dollar."

- Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market

A quick yet informative read. The book is really a collection of semi-organized essays. It gets fairly repetative, with the author driving home his point in a multidude of ways, but with good intentions. He does a good job explaining concepts, and this could have been an entry in the "...For Dummies" series. Disappointingly there is little positive advice, only a few pages at the very end. If anything it opened my mind to how mismanaged our economic policies are, and the most important thing I learned is that I need to be more proactive about educating myself and investing for my future. A bit like waking up out of the Matrix.

I found the book to be a very poor read. It was a real chore to plow through. It reads like one of those gold bug books where the problems are many, but the solution is always gold. Could have been 1/4 the length and said the same thing