SUMMARY: The author, a purported financial expert who claims to have put clients into Amazon, Starbucks, and Cisco "early," and lists a host of interviews on Fox Business and Glenn Beck as his bona fides, promises "a survival guide for the rise of the new world order."
QUICK REVIEW: Poorly written, poorly reasoned, poorly presented, this book almost makes me question the idea that the dollar is in jeopardy. Vickers did more to undermine my faith in the "we have too much debt" scenario than every Fed press release I have ever read.
FULL REVIEW: Buying The Day After the Dollar Crashes my greatest concern was its reference to its claim to function as a survival guide, to the "new world order" no less. I was worried I would be forced to trudge through 180 pages of Turner Diaresque blueprints on how to survive the coming race wars and Amero rollout.
That at least would have been amusing.
Instead Vickers spends the first 100 pages spewing an amateurish review of US economics, in the spirit of Fox News and the shouting heads that espouse smaller government and at the same time the crushing of the 4th Amendment. Highlights of this painful read include "the 1990s saw tremendous growth..... hundreds of companies went public."
By my count nearly 4,000 went public from 1990-2000. I suppose technically "hundreds" is not incorrect, but Vickers' lack of precision is indicative of the haphazard way he approaches facts.
The writing is also sloppy. Take this painful sentence: "No one really knows how many jobs have been outsourced outside of the United States, because companies are not required to disclose this information so they never talk about it." Referencing a company "talking" is a mistake one makes in spontaneous conversation, but when writing of a serious subject meriting careful examination, such errors are inexcusable.
So is inadequate sourcing. I would give some examples, but that is not y job, it is the job of the author. If you make the mistake of wasting a few hours on this horrible book, examples will be obvious. Me not listing them will give you something to do other than regret having bought this tripe.
There is a bizzarre green tint to Vickers' writing too. Occasionally he drops in references to Native American oneness with the earth or he tries to tie neo-libertarianism with environmental sensitivity. It never makes much sense or seems persuasive.
Finally, when this nightmare eventually gets to the promised "survival guide," it stumbles, falls, and impales itself on a pike of shoddy facts and maudlin writing.
Vickers drones on about how the markets collapse under an impossible scenario of Asiatic selling and spontaneous Fed action. It is not that I do not believe the US dollar is in a flat spin or that a catastrophic scenario with our currency is completely far fetched, it is just that I am pretty certain Vickers is about the last person I would trust to tell me how it is going to unfold, let alone what to do. His advice is simplistic ("buy gold") and impractical ("buy seeds"). You would probably find better guidance on the GLD message board, and at least have some laughs. The part of "The Day" dealing with what should be interesting-- the financial "revolution" Vickers warns about-- is about as enthralling as a prospectus for an accounting firm.
At least reading a prospectus though, would actually enlighten you as to a possible sensible investment. "The Day After the Dollar Crashes" just left me feeling like I had lost a small amount of money and not an inconsiderable amount of time, with nothing to show.
Avoid.
Sensible libertarian views on nearly everything- except foreign affairs.