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In 1971, President Nixon imposed national price controls and took the United States off the gold standard, an extreme measure intended to end an ongoing currency war that had destroyed faith in the U.S. dollar. Today we are engaged in a new currency war, and this time the consequences will be far worse than those that confronted Nixon.
Currency wars are one of the most destructive and feared outcomes in international economics. At best, they offer the sorry spectacle of countries' stealing growth from their trading partners. At worst, they degenerate into sequential bouts of inflation, recession, retaliation, and sometimes actual violence. Left unchecked, the next currency war could lead to a crisis worse than the panic of 2008.
Currency wars have happened before-twice in the last century alone-and they always end badly. Time and again, paper currencies have collapsed, assets have been frozen, gold has been confiscated, and capital controls have been imposed. And the next crash is overdue. Recent headlines about the debasement of the dollar, bailouts in Greece and Ireland, and Chinese currency manipulation are all indicators of the growing conflict.
As James Rickards argues in Currency Wars, this is more than just a concern for economists and investors. The United States is facing serious threats to its national security, from clandestine gold purchases by China to the hidden agendas of sovereign wealth funds. Greater than any single threat is the very real danger of the collapse of the dollar itself.
Baffling to many observers is the rank failure of economists to foresee or prevent the economic catastrophes of recent years. Not only have their theories failed to prevent calamity, they are making the currency wars worse. The U. S. Federal Reserve has engaged in the greatest gamble in the history of finance, a sustained effort to stimulate the economy by printing money on a trillion-dollar scale. Its solutions present hidden new dangers while resolving none of the current dilemmas.
While the outcome of the new currency war is not yet certain, some version of the worst-case scenario is almost inevitable if U.S. and world economic leaders fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors. Rickards untangles the web of failed paradigms, wishful thinking, and arrogance driving current public policy and points the way toward a more informed and effective course of action.
Preface xiii
Part 1 War Games 1
Chapter 1 Prewar 3
Chapter 2 Financial War 17
Part 2 Currency Wars 35
Chapter 3 Reflections on a Golden Age 37
Chapter 4 Currency War I (1921-1936) 56
Chapter 5 Currency War II (1967-1987) 78
Chapter 6 Currency War 111(2010-) 98
Chapter 7 The G20 Solution 125
Part 3 The Next Global Crisis 143
Chapter 8 Globalization and State Capital 145
Chapter 9 The Misuse of Economics 168
Chapter 10 Currencies, Capital and Complexity 195
Chapter 11 Endgame-Paper, Gold or Chaos? 226
Conclusion 255
Afterword 259
Acknowledgments 267
Notes 271
Selected Sources 279
Index 289
Anonymous
Posted June 19, 2012
I just bought the Nook version of this book and couldn't put it down. I've just started to learn about economics the last four years and highly recommend this book. If you are just starting to learn about our financial system or have been around I still recommend. The author is very informed and backs up all ideas with facts, history, etc., so unlike other economic books with too much political slant. It starts out as a narrative and then towards the middle he really starts to address the impact of dollar on world currencies...must read. Very rare to find an "economic" book with "suspense"...
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted December 3, 2011
A compeling thesis on monetary instability.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.honestTT
Posted November 14, 2012
This is an excellent book and well worth your time to read it.
I'm not sure why some reviewers did not like the book since
their arguments were incoherent with respect to the authors
main points. Perhaps it is because they disagree with his
conclusion as to the best way to avoid Ruinous economic
consequences Precipitated currency wars.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted June 24, 2012
Extremely enlightening. This is a must read if you are interested in macro economics.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.fz01
Posted December 12, 2011
For me this was light reading, perhaps not enough substance. But, interesting that Pentagon was involved in staging such war games, i.e. involving currency as war. We are apparently witnessing it today, via Dollar, Euro, Pound, Renminbi.
Author predicts four stages, from what we see today to SDR, and basket of currencies, only to end in gold as the final solution.
3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 14, 2013
After graduate studies in government, social sciences, and real estate, and 30 years of dealing with the consequences of our monetary policy in the real estate business, this is the first book I've seen that gives a broad and long perspective on the role of monetary policy in history. I pick my writers carefully so as not to bore myself, so after enjoying Michael Lewis, I decided to "plow through" this book only to understand what is going on today. It was surprisingly easy plowing. Rickards brings it all very much to life, and covers a huge amount of (extremely relevant) ground in a short time... with elegant illustrations and an intellectually honest, balanced treatment. Highly recommended to anyone planning to live through the next decade, or who would like to understand the news!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted June 7, 2012
Couldnt get through it
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.greybees
Posted March 16, 2012
Light reading
Richards reports in all-embracing detail - office layouts, furniture arrangements, beverages drank, foods eaten, etc. - the preparation for and events of a multi-day conference sponsored by DOD. Not sure of the overall cost of the operation or its usefulness because before too many pages are past the reader is rather disinterested.
A reference to the Drudge Report by the author as a prime source of his financial information is rather telling.
1 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted February 10, 2012
A look at how markets can be manipulated to ruin a country. They are doing it to Iran right now, but it turns out it can be done more subtly...
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 22, 2011
This is one of types of book that makes you think about what could and might happen. The basic arguments seem sound and the conclusions all seem possible. In fact I would say much of the book has to say is just down right scary. It was well worth time needed to read and think about it's contents.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 25, 2012
A must read
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 4, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted March 30, 2012
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Anonymous
Posted October 5, 2012
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Anonymous
Posted November 10, 2011
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Anonymous
Posted February 4, 2012
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Anonymous
Posted November 19, 2011
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Anonymous
Posted November 14, 2011
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Anonymous
Posted December 29, 2011
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Overview
In 1971, President Nixon imposed national price controls and took the United States off the gold standard, an extreme measure intended to end an ongoing currency war that had destroyed faith in the U.S. dollar. Today we are engaged in a new currency war, and this time the consequences will be far worse than those that confronted Nixon.
Currency wars are one of the most destructive and feared outcomes in international economics. At best, they offer the sorry spectacle of ...