The Great Reckoning: Protecting Yourself in the Coming Depression [Paperback]

James Dale Davidson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 10, 1994

The 1990s will be a time of political, economic, social, and financial upheaval. But even in a time of crisis, prepared individuals can prosper if they know:
-- the secrets of megapolitics -- how technology will revolutionize economic and social institutions
-- which businesses will thrive and which will fail
-- how to build a financial foundation in a time of economic crisis

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The publishers of the newsletter Strategic Investment predict far-reaching social and economic changes over the next five years.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; Rev Upd edition (January 10, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671885286
• ISBN-13: 978-0671885281
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #700,731 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great political & cultural analysis - Poor Investment Advice, September 23, 2001

By 

Steven Chambers (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great Reckoning: Protecting Yourself in the Coming Depression (Paperback)

I first read this book in the early 90's and was struck by the in-depth scholarship and research the authors had invested. I felt then and still feel today that they made an insightful analysis of the forces at work in the world today as we grapple with the end of the cold war, the "new economy" and the developing clash of civilizations. I have been even more amazed over the years as the trends and forces they presented evolve along the lines forecast in the book. Especially salient are the chapters on the struggle with Islam replacing that with Marx and the effects of technological change on the scale of effective military operations.

That being said, had you followed the investment advice in the book since its pubication you would have lost a significant amount of money over the last few years. This is the only reason I rated it four stars instead of five. The investment analysis is solid, and in fact identifies facts that should be taken into account when structuring a financial portfolio, as a portion of it should be designed for worse case scenarios. The conclusions the authors arrived at were incorrect however, although it may just have been bad timing rather than incorrect prediction. As the Terrorist war heats up, (as forecast in the book), we may see an acceleration of the forces the book points out.

In sum, read this book because it will help you understand the forces going on in the world and how the real world works. Also recommended is their follow-on work, "The Sovereign Individual"

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Long but Great read, August 17, 2002

By 

Howard Miller (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great Reckoning: Protecting Yourself in the Coming Depression (Paperback)

The Great Reckoning is a long but great read. It will NOT appeal to those who focus on 30 second sound bites and 120 second interviews on Good Morning America. If that's your bag, forget this book. It also requires thinking, so if you don't like to think about things in general, or dismiss history and the liberal arts in general, this book will be a total turn off.

A number of people bought this book when first published as a "trading" strategy book. I don't know where they got that idea from, perhaps they simply assumed to much. Rather, it is about probabilities and possibilites in the 1990's on the macro level with plenty of caveats.

In retrospective hindsight, the authors had some outstanding hits, and some complete misses. However, on the whole, those who dismissed this book during the tech bubble are now looking at themselves in the mirror and wondering how stupid they were to dismiss it out of hand.

If you think through what they have to say, you begin to realize that some things will take longer to work out than others. A "must" book to read if you enjoy looking beyond the daily "noise".

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An economic and political analysis that changed my worldview, May 16, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: The Great Reckoning: Protecting Yourself in the Coming Depression (Paperback)

James Davidson and Lord Rees-Mogg have developed a truly novel way of viewing world political and economic events. Using their theory of "megapolitics", they bring numerous seemingly unrelated current events into sharper focus, and show how all are part of a broader, more basic trend. Thoroughly researched and well written, "The Great Reckoning" deals with such issues as the collapse of communism, the information revolution, the vast accumulation of both private and public debt, the impending collapse of the welfare state, the rise of violence around the globe, the signs of a coming world depression, and many other timely topics. Add to this Mr. Davidson's wonderful writing style, and what could have been a very dry analysis becomes an enthralling read. I churned through the approximately 1000 pages of this book in only two sittings! This is absolutely my favorite book of all time. If you have a keen interest in economics, politics, or even your own personal investments, I urge you to read this book. I think you will enjoy it.