A "Giant" Disappointment

I had been eagerly awaiting reading this book for many months. After finalizing my current reading stash, I bought this book. I only made it about one-quarter of the way. The author continually references newspapers, magazines, and news and rarely makes any value judgments himself. I found myself wandering in and out, not being able to focus on the topic at hand. While I believe what the author is trying to convey, I also believe that I could have written a better book. To give you an idea of the number of references quoted, the bibliography starts on page 185 and ends on page 251! The index ends on page 264. That means that 30% of the book is references and index. Don't bother buying this book. Peter Schiff does a much better job in Crash Proof 2.0: How to Profit From the Economic Collapse.

When Giants Fall

Michael Panzner paints a much different picture of the future of the american ecnomony than the mainstream media does. He believes the U.S. citizens will be facing a completely different way of life in the not so distant future. Our days of spend, borrow, and repeat are finally coming to an end. In the last 30 years our debt is up, wages are flat, and costs of living is higher.

Panzner believes we will go from liberalization/laissez-faire to the Russo-Chinese approach to econominc manangement. A favorite line of mine from the book is that 'risks are greatest when conditions are best.' There are an extraordinary amount of citations in the book, almost in every paragraph, as evidenced by the 65 page bibliography. Overall a very good book and very well researched. Anyone should read this who wants to be informed about the realities of the US economy and not what you hear on cnbc everyday.

A bleak view of the future

Michael J. Panzner offers a dreary glimpse of the future in his latest book. He explores a world where the United States is no longer the superpower that it is now, and that future is a bleak one. With constant wars over resources, power, and a general breakdown of society, Mr. Panzner offers little hope or solace for those people who seek to see light at the end of the tunnel. Mr. Panzner believes the current economic situation will inevitably lead to the end of the United States' reign at the top and that there is no chance of the United States reclaiming that position.

This is a book for pessimists, for there is nothing in this book that offers a glimmer of hope. Mr. Panzner throws figures, statistics, and polls at the reader to bring his point home. While it is impressive that he has a command of all this information, it does not always work--especially considering his best examples are those of societies like Iran and Venezuela. The author never goes in depth or digs beneath the information, but presents it at face value and then quickly moves on. This book is definitely one that will bring you down.

Reviewed by
Kevin Winter

How to survive America's imminent collapse

Books about the future usually mix and match four broad categories: The present is great or awful, and the future will be great or awful. This book builds on the awful end of today's economic problems. Michael J. Panzner reinforces the seesawing anxiety some people already feel about America and the future by contending that these dreary times will almost certainly worsen. People have been selling books about America's demise for decades and maybe one of them will be right someday, but this one is pretty dire. getAbstract admires Panzner's diligence and hard work, but notes that he offers few, if any, mitigating beds of roses to brighten his forecast. Instead, he blends generally negative economic, ecological, demographic and geopolitical news to project a downward trend that would scare even the most daredevil economic rollercoaster rider. Trends that harm America are likely to injure many other nations also, so some positive, mutual pushback seems inevitable, though Panzner cites instead how other nations would benefit from a weaker U.S. Given the reporting on negative trends and dangers he amasses to explain his pessimism, it would be no wonder if Panzner is depressed. If he's right, there will be plenty of depression to go around.

Old Stuff

I've read all this stuff before. It's a re-hash of what I've read in financial journals. (I don't mean the hogwash that comes from our Government and the FED.) It's a futurist book, without a time frame.