Customer Reviews

The Great Reflation: How Investors Can Profit From the New World of Money

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Perhaps my expectations were too high about this book but in short I was a tad let down. As for the positives:
* The book was very clearly written
* Complex topics were explained in the most basic of terms
* The book did an outstanding job of Illustrating the macro monetary situation we are in currently in by examining the recent and current financial situation, the fed's intervention and the like.

The juciest section for me was Section 1 where the Author painted an elaborate and elegant picture as to the situation we are in and how unprecedented it is. Atop of this he covered disciplines that one needs to understand in order to frame the picture that we are now in the midst of: historical contexts, long wave cycles, etc and he also does an excellent job of providing facts and charts which illustrates his points in the clearest of terms. He tends to allude to where things may be headed but never says it outright. So its pretty gripping - and like good Hitchcock movie it feels like foreshadowing of really great things that he will cover later in the book. Bravo for section 1 - get the book for this reason alone.

I was a bit disappointed in the second section - namely the investment section:
* the book did an excellent job of going through the different investment options one may face in the current environment yet I felt it was overly simplistic in some cases -- while the complexity of the first section was closer to what I expected, the investing section felt a bit like a "beginners guide" - perhaps too simplistic.

Finally, I was also disappointed as the book didn't make any predictions. As I said before, the first section felt like he was foreshadowing a story that he would weave together in the final section - telling you what may happening, how to prepare, what to invest in etc. However true to the form of a good economist, the Author did NOT make predictions. This felt a little bit unfulfilling.

Instead he explained where we are and that the data will determine which direction we head (deflation vs inflation) and gave us the tools to understand how we may determine this ourselves over the coming years. No bold conclusions as to what to expect, no intellectual catharsis. It kind of fell flat for me -- as sometimes I am looking for an opinion from a wiser, more experienced Sage -- not just a guidebook as to what to look for in the field.

(But again maybe that was the point of the book -- that there is massive uncertainty out there and there are no guarantees where we are headed following the "great experiment" we have undertaken.)

If the book didnt leave me yearning for an opinion or if it had taught me some new investing angles I would have given it a 5* however. I still would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who is a concerned investor for the first section alone; just dont expect a compass that will tell you what to do. Instead think of it as a field guide for how to think for yourself and make your own predictions. Still a good read.

The author talks about liquidity, credit, banking, economy, asset markets with depth, historical perspective, reason and clarity. He also has a good grasp of politics and how it influencs people's pocket book. The author has a wealth of knowledge and lays it all out in the book in a way that is easy to follow.

The book gives the reader a very good understanding of the big picture and the macro factors that affect it. I learned quite a few things.

The reasons that I can not give it a 5 stars is because

1 There is very limited coverage of equity selection. For example, what type of equities will do better relatively in an inflationary period, or the characteristics of different equities and how to select them. The author talks about equity as a whole and at a high level.

2 The author gives the Federal Reserve too high a grade. His evaluation of the incentives of the Federal Reserve system and the motives of the people running the Federal Reserve is too high and off the mark. He also praised the Fed for saving the world from a total collapse (in 2008-2009), which can never be proved true or imaginary.

Despite these short comings, investors can most likely benefit from this book.

The Great Reflation is on of those books that should be read by everyone as it explains just how we got into the present financial crisis, and how it may play out. I have followed the author for 4 0 years and he is the best banking and financial system analyst I know of. Boechk takes us through monetary policy and shows us how the government has steadily attempted to inflate (keep it growing) the economy, and how the effects have masked an underlying long-term downtrend, that explains why it is so difficult to effect a recovery with massive stimulus. Boeckh aslo explains how various asset classes will react depending on the outcome of the crisis.

I became aware of Tony Boeckh through subscribing to John Mauldin's free blog, [...] (also highly recommended). Tony was a guest contributor and I liked his viewpoints well enough that I began reading his free monthly newsletter, [...] so it was a no-brainer to buy his book. It's amazing to me that these gentlemen give this content away for free!

This is a fantastic gift book for high school seniors and college aid students to introduce them to real world issues regarding finance and investing topics. This is especially true for his individual chapters in Part II regarding asset allocation, stock markets, interest rates and the bond market, U.S. Dollar, Gold, Commodities, and Real Estate. Very well written for whatever level of investor you are, new or very experienced.

I have read several investment books. This was one of the most exciting, until I discovered that all of the graphs he suggest you use, to track where you are at any time in the business cycle (boom/bust cycle) are unavailable to the average person on Yahoo, MSN, or Bloomberg. Now he conveniently offers a newletter for $2000 per year, so you can get access to this data. If it smells like a duck....

The author gives a very depressing summary of where we are now (or were, at the end of 2009), and answers many questions like: if the dollar is going down the tubes, why is china buying US treasuries? The author, for reasons that escape me, tries to NOT be austrian (for example, after you read this, the evils of the fractional-reserve banking system are quite apparent, but the author does not even attempt to make (or refute) this point). The investment advice in this book is almost completely worthless, probably because there is no good advice to be given to non-professional investors: there is no good place to put your money, at least in short-to-medium term.

The brilliant Tony Boeckh has written an important book for our times, which should be must reading not only for investors and business people, but also Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Public. Tony's decades as Editor and Publisher of the esteemed Bank Credit Analyst qualify him uniquely to analyze the preconditions for the Great Recession still plagueing the world economy, what precipitated it, and what must happen if we are to return to prosperity. Most importantly, he provides clear advice on what investors and businesses must do to protect themselves against the aftershocks that may continue for years. Run, do not walk to your bookseller to get your copy of Boeckh's book, and carefully read it at least once without delay.

The first part of the book is a clear and sensible explanation of our current economic meltdown and how we got here written by a man who has spent the better part of his life focusing on the history of economic and investment cycles. It is easily understandable by the lay investor. The remainder of the book is devoted to tools and strategies for coping with and, in fact, profiting during the difficult times ahead. Again it is very clear and understandable. You'll be disappointed if you expect the typical "how to" book. While Mr. Boeckh tells you, in a sense, "how to," he makes it very clear that the application of his tools and strategy require hard and consistent study. He does provide many good references to further educate the lay investor
.

A look at history and current events to understand where the US and world economy is headed in this bailed out cuasi socialist stimulus reality we now live on. It takes aim, rightfully so, at the incompetence of central banks and the Fed to achieve their functions.

This book gives a great overview and explanation of how we got into the current predicament. I find the author's long wave idea very compelling as I am a believer in cycles. The author believes that the long down wave was interrupted in the early 1970s by loose monetary policy and is only now reasserting itself. Personally, I believe the author understates the seriousness of the current investment climate and economic situation, though he did a good job of identifying all the problems. Overall, unlike some books out there, he does not turn his book into a forum for proclaiming his personal political views, though he called the Bush years disastrous and Palin a celebration of stupidity and ignorance. But it's hard to argue about those views. Plenty of conservatives and libertarians would agree with him. If the book was disappointing in any way, it was in the section dealing with how to invest, part of the promise of the book's subtitle. In addition, while the author did provide some very interesting data on precious metals and commodities as investments over the very long term (they're not as good as you might think), we are in a climate now where, I believe, precious metals should comprise a significant portion of your portfolio. When the dollar loses its reserve currency status and hyperinflation rears its ugly head, precious metals will be one of the only means of preserving your wealth. Of course, there will come a time when you'll want to sell your metals (like when those kiosks in the mall or TV ads say "We sell gold and silver" instead of "We buy"), now is the time to accumulate them.

But if you're looking for a good understanding of how we got to where we are and the ramifications of current policies, this is a good book.