The New Empire of Debt: The Rise and Fall of an Epic Financial Bubble (Agora Series) [Hardcover]

Will Bonner (Author), Addison Wiggin (Author), Agora (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 2009 | Series: Agora Series (Book 37)

An updated look at the United States' precarious position given the recent financial turmoil

In The New Empire of Debt, financial writers Bill Bonner and Addison Wiggin return to reveal how the financial crisis that has plagued the United States will soon bring an end to this once great empire.

Throughout the book, the authors offer an updated look at the United States' precarious position given the recent financial turmoil, and discuss how government control of the economy and financial system-combined with unfettered deficit spending and gluttonous consumption-has ravaged the business environment, devastated consumer confidence, and pushed the global economy to the brink. Along the way, Bonner and Wiggin cast a wide angle lens that looks back in history and ahead to the coming century: showing how dramatic changes in the economic power of the United States will inevitably impact every American.

• Reveals the financial realities the United States currently faces and what the ultimate outcome may be
• Weaves together the worlds of politics, economics, and personal finance in a way that underscores the severity of the situation
• Addresses the events leading up to the implosion of the U.S. financial system
• Looks ahead to help you avoid the pitfalls presented by a weaker United States
• Other titles by Bonner: Empire of Debt, Financial Reckoning Day, and Mobs, Messiahs, and Markets
• Other titles by Wiggin: I.O.U.S.A., Demise of the Dollar, and Financial Reckoning Day

The United States is heading down a difficult path. The New Empire of Debt clearly shows how this has happened and discusses what you can do to overcome the financial challenges that will arise as the situation deteriorates.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"How deficit spending, gluttonous consumption and military adventurism, they say, will bring America to its knees…"
— The Economist

"This is a powerful book. In addition to its depth, it is well written, well documented, and vastly readable. I had the feeling of seeing an X-ray of economic reality with the crust removed. It should be made mandatory reading in most circles. Read it, and your views of the world around you will no longer be the same."
—Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan and Fooled by Randomness

"Now perhaps someone will finally listen!"
—Jim Rogers, author of Investment Biker, Adventure Capitalist, and Hot Commodities

"Instead of trade and work, imperialism breeds militarism, inflation, and debt, as Bonner and Wiggin show. Yet there is a golden hope in freedom and honest money."
—Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr., President, Ludwig von Mises Institute

"[Empire of Debt] is a fantastic book. It's thoughtful, erudite, witty, well written, practical . . . and spot-on. If you value your financial health, you'll read it from cover to cover. Now!"
—Doug Casey, Chairman, Casey Research, LLC, and author of Crisis Investing

"I laughed, I cried, I renewed my passport. . . . Bonner and Wiggin deliver a steady diet of insight and wit that terrifies the reader, even as it amuses. Empire of Debt is not for everyone, only for those of us who hope to enjoy continuing prosperity amidst difficult conditions."
—Eric Fry, Editor, The Rude Awakening

From the Inside Flap

"The Golden Age of American capitalism is over. . . . In the space of half a century it passed from gold, to silver, to paper, and is now somewhere between plastic and navel lint."
—From The New Empire of Debt

In the last half of 2008, the Empire of Debt received the margin call from Hell. Now, all of its citizens are asked to pay up as the U.S. economy stumbles down a dangerous path of financial turmoil. What exactly went wrong?

When things are good, people tend to believe the most outrageous things—that the financial sector could get rich by lending money to people who couldn't pay it back, and that a whole economy could flourish by luring consumers to spend more than they could afford. These hallucinations created an immense worldwide bubble of debt and dollars. And now—with the U.S. government inflating the biggest bubble in public debt the world has ever seen—a financial whirlpool has formed and threatens to drag the entire country down the drain.

In The New Empire of Debt, the internationally acclaimed author team of William Bonner and Addison Wiggin return to reveal how the epic financial bubble that is plaguing the United States will soon bring an end to this once-great empire. Throughout the book, they offer a frightening look at¿the United States' precarious position and discuss how government control of the economy and financial system—combined with unfettered deficit spending and gluttonous consumption—has ravaged the business environment, devastated consumer confidence, and pushed the global economy to the brink.

Along the way, Bonner and Wiggin warn of the dangers that lie ahead and offer practical advice to protect your financial well-being as the American empire collapses upon itself. You'll discover that you don't have to tie your own fate to the inevitable destruction of America's system of imperial finance. Instead, you can take some simple steps to weather the crisis.

Bonner and Wiggin have been studying the financial landscape for more than twenty years. With The New Empire of Debt, they not only show you how we got into this mess, but how to get yourself out of it.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 356 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 2 edition (August 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470483261
• ISBN-13: 978-0470483268
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.2 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #283,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 43 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Crumbling Financial Empire? October 9, 2009

By Larry Underwood

Format:Hardcover

Authors William Bonner and Addison Wiggin, a couple of economic iconoclasts, have compiled a chilling perspective of a crumbling American financial empire; whose irrational economic policy over the years has created huge buget deficits that defy logic; sooner or later, the bubble is going to burst, and this country is in for an economic disaster of epic proportions.

It's not going to be a pretty picture.

The problem began in the post-Reagan years, when any sort of prudent fiscal policy seemed to become a distant memory. Perhaps the greed & hubris of big government is creating an unrealistic perception that creating an unfathomable budget deficit really won't hurt the economy; just keep borrowing. That's no way to run a business and certainly no way to run a country; except to run it into the ground, financially.

We've become a bailout nation, with little regard for any financial common sense. The Stimulis Package is an ill-conceived plan that is going to be ensuring our long term financial devastation, which our children's children will be still paying off, well into their golden years of retirement. Retirement? What's that?

The message delivered by Bonner and Wiggin is startlingly clear; this country is heading down the primrose path of socialism and it's a cost we won't be able to afford. We're crumbling under a mountain of debt, and the inevitable landslide will prove to be catastrophic, unless our fiscal policy is changed; very soon. We don't have much time to waste; our nation's financial future is on very thin ice.

28 of 36 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars March of the Kakistocracy August 26, 2009

By A. Jurshevski

Format:Hardcover

Read the full review at [...]

"Whilst we do not agree with everything that the book has to say, we agree the majority of the arguments and we find the context and perspective that it brings to these issues refreshing, well researched and well-written. Unlike many of the writers in this space, the prose is not verbose, bombastic or shrill. This is a thoughtful and cogent treatment of the most important issue the World is facing today.

You are in good company reading this book. Among those endorsing it are Pete Petersen, Warren Buffett, David Walker, Paul O'Neill, Jim Rogers and others. We recommend that all elected officials and concerned citizens everywhere consider this book required reading."

* Kakistocracy: Government populated by the most corrupt and inept members of a society.

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars seriously enjoyable read about a serious subject October 3, 2009

By S. Vollum

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The authors have written not only a well researched and thoroughly documented treatise on economics, history and money -- but they did so in a most enjoyable way! I kept finding myself wanting to read out loud their many pithy and clever 'punch lines' but realized they were enjoyable, clever and funny to me because of the context and background the previous paragraphs (and pages) they had so nicely lofted into my mind! Ah well, some punch lines were SO good that I just couldn't resist sharing them with family and friends. In the end, if said friends didn't understand what I was talking about, I kept recommending they get their own copy of this book. Its an excellent read. Nicely done, gentlemen! You kept me amused while educating me. Plus I had a heck of a good time while reading!