Customer Reviews

How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years in the 21st Century

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

 

 

What a fun book to read! Mr. Ruff seems to be a very good and honest man and I enjoyed his book very much. If you believe the country and the world has no problems then this is not the book for you. If you believe we will have economic problems in the future and like me you don't have faith in our growing supply of paper money, then you will enjoy this book. I am a silver nut. I believe gold and silver are money, not paper. More important, I learned a few things from reading this book. I always admire men who can teach me something. I seek them out. Regards, Keith, Peachtree City, Ga.

A good overall primer on the current financial mess as well as some worthwhile suggestions on how to prosper/prepare for what may be happening next. Some of it might seem paranoid, but others would say he's only prudent.

It would be even better if he didn't take so much time trying to sell everybody on his newsletter, but it doesn't take away from the quality of the books message. However, some closer editing might serve the author well (especially considering that this is the second edition) specifically the part where he quotes Alexander Tytler. The quote he mentions roughly says: "Democracy only lasts as long as it takes for the people to realize they can vote themselves benefits from the public treasury."

While it is a true statement, five minutes of Google searching can tell you the quote was never uttered nor written by Alexander Tytler. It was quoted by Reagan in a political speech (probably thrown in there by a careless speech writer) and has been unfortunately repeated in conservative circles as much as "May you live in interesting times" is repeated by intellectuals, pseudo and otherwise. That one was wrongly cited as a "Chinese curse" by RFK in a speech he made in South Africa in 1965 (there is no such expression or curse in Chinese).

Nevertheless, this is a quick primer for anyone who hasn't been paying attention or wants a straightforward explanation to the train wreck we're all witnessing now.

either you get it or you don't. this book was first published in 1979. therefore, it is way ahead of any other financial book that was written during this same time period. the title would sound a little frisky, if it were written just today. however, it wasn't. there are many things that he talks about that people are only now starting to realize and discuss. things like gold, silver and food for survival. he talks about the impending banking crisis that would be about to unfold. these are all things that are coming into fruition now, and yet people still do not get it. the premanatory nature of this book shows just how brainwashed we still are with gas about to hit five and gold set to hit $1000 one more time and beyond. if people do not get it now. they will after this christmas. it will be one of the worst christmases ever.

This latest edition of Ruff's book is apparently a revised edition of his original book written in the 70s with some things deleted and some new information added on to bring the reader up to date as of the beginnings of the current sub-prime meltdown. My first comment is that it feels a bit cut and pasted. Some passages are repeated verbatim in different sections of the book, some are repeated not quite verbatim but close enough to count as repetitive. Based on this alone, a star has to be deleted.

Otherwise, Ruff's message has not changed much in the intervening 30 years or so which some may argue proves it is "timeless" while others probably feel it's tired. The emphasis is on inflation which leads to some interesting plot turns. He is a huge supporter of gold and even more so, silver because of the rapid printing of fiat currencies. Despite the fact that deflation currently rules, as of this writing (February 2009), gold is near an all-time high and silver is up solidly in the past several months. So, his advice seems correct if not quite for the correct reasons.

One unusual strategy he advocates in the book is to basically leverage up your home with a fixed rate mortgage and put the proceeds in a compounding money market fund. The logic again comes back to his belief that inflation will rule so that the yield on your money market fund will be climbing while your mortgage payments remain constant. Unfortunately for you if you followed this strategy, interest rates have gone down, so this strategy would have worked against you. It still may prove a smart move, but so far, big mistake.

Finally he advocates a basic food storage program adequate for up to six months. He does take pains to explain that he is not expecting the end of the world when he endorses this idea, but he does expect disruptions. As he correctly states, there is no downside to this storage plan. If he's wrong, you eat the insurance (literally). If he's correct, you'll likely be very glad to have the basics around if you are unable to purchase food items easily or perhaps at all.

In conclusion, if you have never been exposed to these sort of ideas, you should be and this book is not a bad place to start. If you are already familiar with the material, it doesn't break any new ground or go into tremendous detail on any subject. Others have pointed out the many plugs for his services which are a bit annoying but easy to ignore.

I followed Howard Ruff's advice and bought gold in 1979 at $270/oz.; then I sold it in 1980 for over $800 and got my family completely out of debt. It is still the best finance book I have ever read. I'm not a Mormon and never will be, but Howard Ruff hit the nail on the head. We eventually ate our stored food, all right, but now I'm thinking it may be time to store up some more. At least buy one of the used copies of this book really cheaply and you'll see what I mean.

Have a happy day!

Howard Ruff writes with a easy to understand style and brings interesting insight into the economics of the 21st century. He talks about investing in gold, silver,silver mining stocks and creating homestorage.

The homestorage part I found the most interesting as Howard explains that because inflation will be on the rise buying stuff in bulk now & using it later will save you money as prices increase.

Pensions & financial advisers will not help you plan for a prosperous future.Financial education is the key and Howard Ruff is a must read in this field. If you liked Robert Kiyosaki's books you'll enjoy this too.

Excellent read, Mr Ruff, makes his case here compelling letting us know of the urgency of our situation in this country, but he also gives solid solutions in how to overcome them I give this book 4 stars for strong clear, readable content and excellent problem solving ideas.

You know I can see from the existing reviews there are a lot of differences about thought on this book. I understand everybody's point of view. I am going to comment on what I thought was THE most interesting part of the book which is not about anything to do with the title per se. Howard Ruff has a chapter called SIN TAX and he summarizes the founding of the country back to John Adams and the use of the laws and the Constitution and what America really stood for 200+ years ago and why the Constitution was written as it was. Then he talks about the fabric of today's society literally falling apart. I happen to agree with his assessment - that crime is rampant (and getting worse) the schools are babysitting factories (no time to really teach in classrooms with 35-40 or more kids in them) not to mention the fear factor of the kids going to school these days, and the younger the kids, the more babies they like to have. There is no shame anymore in being a 15 yr old parent and I believe this is a terrible social cost to our country. The social underpinnings of our society (and other countries too around the world) are costing us TRILLIONS AND TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS. Welfare costs, medical costs for all these out of wedlock babies, food costs to avert starvation but most of all, the damage that passes down from generation to generation in these one-parent (for the most part) families who for the most part never will recover from the lower and then-lower-still decline in any decent standard of living.

Eventually, the author asserts, this will sink the United States of America both morally and financially.

I think he has a point. I just look around the country in my travels and where I live (a 'nice' area) and I see it with my own eyes. Plus I am also an older parent who wrings my hands over all of this. It sure ain't what it was like when I was growing up.

Funny chapter in a book on 'How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years in the 21st Century'? Perhaps.

But deadly right on, so to speak.

I would like to see this chapter published in major American newspapers as a guest editorial. This really did hit right on the nose.

That is what I liked the best about the book. I love to read books that are fascinating in whatever it is they are talking about. I certainly wasn't expecting this chapter in a book of this title. But I sure am glad he did include it.

Now I know Howard Ruff is of Mormon descent and therefore a believer in large families and at his website there is a picture of him with his wife, all the kids and the gaggle of grandkids. And it shocked me like it has shocked a few of you too. But then I took out a trial subscription to his Ruff Times and I read about the intact nuclear families of each of his children. And while I am no proponent of large families especially in today's economically challenging times, at least I can propose that a financially stable intact family with both a mother and father even though with more kids than I would like to see, as versus a single parent teenager with a few kids - well who do the odds favor in terms of having a successful life? At least this author lives as he says he lives and I have to respect him for that. And I think he has financially set his family on a path where they will never be burdens on society. In fact I'm sure from all I've read by him that he did the greatest favor of all and taught his children fiscal responsibility along with family morals & values (which I sure hope they practice).

Lastly, Howard Ruff does talk about gold and silver and how you need to be on the G & S train while it is still in the early parts of its voyage and I, who reads everything, totally agrees on that. His chapters on silver being a far more profitable opportunity than gold probably are very correct.

One of the best finance books I've read in years. I'm recommending that my family and friends read this -- this book is just too important to miss....

I read Howard's free columns online at[..]and his recommendation of the Canadian CEF fund rescued my IRA from the crash, so I figured I'd try his book.

A little rambling but lots of good information in here. Howard's a renaissance man and it shows in this book. Not just a "how to make money" book, but how to do well.

As the crisis that Howard predicted years ago unfolds (and, to be fair, Michael Maloney Rich Dad's Advisors: Guide to Investing In Gold and Silver: Protect Your Financial Future, Peter Schiff Crash Proof: How to Profit From the Coming Economic Collapse (Lynn Sonberg Books), and others predicted), take this advice to heart.