|  | Authors: Addison Wiggin, Kate Incontrera
Creator: David Walker
Publisher: Wiley
List Price: $19.95
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Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 30887
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Pages: 288
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9
ISBN: 0470222778
Dewey Decimal Number: 330.973
EAN: 9780470222775
ASIN: 0470222778
Publication Date: September 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: As pictured an excellent copy, thanks!
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 29
 Paid by word January 19, 2009
Roger Davidson (Guam)
2 out of 8 found this review helpful
This book is about 150 pages too long, saying it too many times and ways gets very boring!!
 Not what I expected, but very much on point January 18, 2009
Dasaya Cates (Columbus, OH)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Good, solid educational read. I liked the voice -- very easy to follow. However, if you're not really analytical or into statistics, you might find this book a really,really slow read. I recommend trying to get your hands on the DVD if you want the information but aren't willing to sit down with the book.
 Must see January 11, 2009
Jason M. Williams
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is must see documentary. It is both unapologetic and realistic in the way that it presents the financial trouble that the United States is in.
Heard most of it by now, but still worth a look January 3, 2009
Herb Hunter (Baghdad)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book was written right at the cusp of the current financial mess, making it very timely for those seeking one explanation as to why things are the way they are, and why they may not improve. The trouble is, anybody who reads Addison Wiggins web site (Daily Reckoning) or similar sites would already know most of what's in this book. Those who don't would still have heard most of the story by now. Most of the explanation part is contained in the front half of the book. The US owes tons of money, social security, medicare and every other entitlement program are going to go bust sooner than we think, etc.
The more useful part of the book is the second half, showcasing interviews with various financial people and politicians offering their explanations and opinions. In particular, I found those of Steve Forbes and Arthur Laffer to be most enlightening, while Robert Rubin put some serious spin on the Clinton administration (Clinton was indeed FOR a middle class tax cut and campaigned on it in '92 - Rubin said exactly the opposite), Warren Buffet sounded more like a politician looking for a vote, and Alan Greenspan acted like he had nothing to do with the situation at all.
Moreover, not long after the release of this book, Greenspan essentially admitted in front of Congress that he was significantly responsible for the current financial mess before running off the stage. Rubin just left the ailing Citicorp after personally assisting in its destruction, and Buffet also changed his tune, softening his approach shortly after the release of the IOUSA movie. He probably caught so much flack from his team over at Berkshire Hathaway. Not wanting to scare everybody and realizing just how bad the markets would be for the foreseeable future, he modified his stance somewhat. So hearing the "Aw, gee, shucks - we dunno what happened!" from some of these people is a bit hard to take.
The book is good, but not great. It could have been even better with a less deferential approach to questioning the various guests commentators. Many of them were too easily let off the hook, in some cases flat out contradicting themselves. Greenspan and Rubin in particular should have been held to the fire. But in fairness, even the doomsaying authors probably couldn't have imagined just how bad things would get not even a year after the book was published.
If you want a primer on what the country is facing in terms of debt and financial obligations, go for it, but there are probably better choices.
Hope is not a strategy December 19, 2008
William Whipple III (Middletown, Delaware)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
The authors "reverse engineered" this book from the documentary film I.O.U.S.A. that debuted (first cut) at the Sundance Film festival in early 2008 and opened (final form) at theaters around the country on August 21.
The film was in turn conceived of as a way to publicize the message of an earlier book, "Empire of Debt: The Rise of an Epic Financial Crisis," William Bonner and Addison Wiggin, John Wiley & Sons (2006). See my review, which was lukewarm because the authors offered no solutions for the problems they diagnosed. (I prefer solutions to gloom and doom.)
Along the way, U.S. Comptroller General David Walker (now president and CEO of the Peterson Foundation) and Robert Bixby, President of the Concord Coalition became involved in the film and Walker wrote a foreword for the companion book.
Walker and Bixby were the prime movers of the Fiscal Wakeup Tour (2005-2008), by the way, which conducted town hall meetings in more than 30 states (primarily on university campuses). The film shows them in action as part of the effort to put a human face on issues of "dry" economic policy. Also, Walker's thinking about four U.S. deficits (budget, savings, trade, and leadership) became the structural framework for the film.
Given this complex background (book - tour - film - book 2), it is hardly surprising that the I.O.U.S.A. book lacks cohesiveness. So far as the "we are in a crisis that must be dealt with very soon" message is concerned, I would recommend the film instead. It is still showing in theaters, and will hopefully come out on DVD one of these days.
That being said, the personal views and motivations of many of the financial and government people who appeared in the film are neatly captured, both in the text (a brief 94 pages) and in appended interviews (166 pages) that put the comments in context and are easier to follow. The witnesses (if that's the right word) are Alice Rivlin, William Bonner, Robert Rubin, Peter G. Peterson, Ron Paul, Paul Volcker, Alan Greenspan, Warren Buffet, James Areddy, Paul O'Neill, Arthur Laffler, and Steve Forbes, and their views are well worth pondering.
As might be expected, I.O.U.S.A. draws a parallel between the economic ills that the authors and others have been predicting for some time and the subprime crisis and oil price spike leading us into recession situation that began in 2007 and is still in progress. "With any luck, we'll make fiscal responsibility hip in Washington again and inject the themes of the book and the film into the national conversation well before and long after the 2008 election."
Unfortunately, things appear to be headed in a different direction right now, with dramatically eased money policy and a trillion dollar deficit in store for fiscal year 2009. Time to write another book, maybe starting from scratch this time.
Showing reviews 6-10 of 29
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