Time to answer the question some of you guys have been asking. Namely, “Where the hell did Ranger Man go?”
Well, I was going to spin a yarn about how he was abducted by wolves and finally fought his way up the chain until he was leading the pack, but him being a lone wolf and all I knew you guys wouldn’t fall for it. So I’ll let him do the ‘splainin’ for himself.
He’s been a big help to me during the past six months and we’ve even had the odd breakfast together here and there to discuss other cool projects. So here he is to fill you in himself… Ranger Man!
The blog is open for you any time, bro!
-Jarhead Survivor
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I’m baaaa-aaaaack! Some of you are like “who are you?” Some of you are like “where have you been?” Before I get on to my rippin’ book review of Spiraling Downward, lets briefly address these questions.
Who am I? I’m Ranger Man – duh. I founded this blog years ago. Then I sold it. Then I bought it back. Then I sold it again, left it in the very capable hands of Jarhead Survivor.
Where have I been? Well, it’s Jarhead’s site now, so I’ve been sitting around, reading from afar, being lazy. No, the reality is I’ve been busy as sh*t. Due to my financial situation, selling the blog and focusing my limited spare time on other efforts made more sense. So what am I doing back, writing here and now? I missed you preppin’ peeps! Well, that and the folks at Prepper Press had my old contact info and asked if I’d like to review some books on the site. So then I was all like “What? Free books? Write reviews? Psshh-yuh!” And then I was all like, “Yo Jarhead, can I post reviews for free books?” And he was all like, “Psshh-yuh!”
So this is my first post in a sporadic, periodic book review guest blog post. First up being Spiraling Downward: Thinking About and Planning for Economic Collapse by Peter Damaris. Is it cray? Oh, it’s cray. It’s cray cray, baby. To first have a conversation about the book, you should first read the back cover, so you understand where I’m speaking from. Witness:
America has suffered two economic blows in less than a decade: the collapse of the dot.com bubble in 2000 and the collapse of the real estate bubble in 2007-2009. These blows have left the U.S. struggling to stay on its feet. Spiraling Downward considers the consequences if a still-weak America took another hit, another stock market crash and credit crunch. Given unaddressed imbalances in the US economy, an economic collapse, is indeed possible.
This book charts a path that an economic collapse might take. It starts with the anatomy of a market crash and a credit crunch. It seeks to identify the danger zones from which another crash might arise. It then looks at how a crash might shock an economy already weak into an unarrested downward spiral. Spiraling Downward thus offers a way to think about the unthinkable. At a time when conventional views of recession and recovery prevail, this book asks us to consider a different proposition: maybe this time it’s different.
It’s ill. Chapter One starts us off with a relatively simple market crash. It defines it, provides an overview of what happens in a market crash, how and why. Then it provides warning signs that might indicate a market crash is coming, describes types of market shocks, historical examples, and how to prepare yourself financially. I haven’t quite read a financial “prepper” book like this before. I’m not even sure I’ve seen one.
Chapter Two kicks the market crash up a notch, moves the economy into a credit crunch. Like the first chapter, it then talks about what to watch for, how to prepare yourself financially, etc. Chapter Three moves the economy further into economic despair by describing a breakdown in the U.S. economic model, what to do, etc. Things then get worse, the transition period, economic and political turmoil, breakdown in social cohesion, and so forth.
A “store X beans and Y rounds of ammo” this book is not. It describes the ways in which the national and global economies could flounder and head into a steady downward spiral, getting worse as it goes. It educates the reader on economic upheaval.
Who is the author, Peter Damaris?
Peter Damaris has spent more than 30 years working in a variety of financial institutions and consulting firms both in the US and overseas. He has specialized in risk management, financial analysis, equity portfolio management, and distressed debt resolution. He holds bachelors and masters degrees in International Affairs with concentrations in Economics and East Asia. He and his wife currently reside in North Carolina.
I give Spiraling Downward book two thumbs up.
- Ranger Man
BTW: What have you read lately?
