Vox Day’s Return of the Great Depression is an short, ambitious book which attempts to make a case that the mainstream economists are very wrong about where things are headed economically, and more importantly that we are headed towards another depression which will be worse than the first. While technical subject matter by nature it is written in a readable style and peppered personal anecdotes, pop culture references, and some humor…. In all an excellent, if too short of a book, which one would do well to read and decide for oneself which way the economic winds are blowing.
– J. Simonsen
Interest in economics appears to be inversely proportional to the strength of the economy. When wealth seems to be expanding–when houses can be bought, flipped, and resold quickly and at great profit, or when IPOs of Internet startups make everyone involved filthy rich–only contrarians and pessimists question the soundness of what is universally regarded as a good thing. But when the boom turns to bust, it becomes imperative to understand where things went wrong…. If Saint Bernanke and his fellow central bankers have actually ended the current recession, government intervention will see a boost of popular support, while the doomsayers, Day among them, will be justly ignored. On the other hand, if Day is correct, the coming depression presents an opportunity to diminish the role central bankers, bureaucrats, and politicians play in the economy. A freer, more prosperous world depends on radical adjustments to the structure of our economic system. Although the picture it paints is rather dark, RGD ultimately provides a useful blueprint for a better economic future.
– Eric Jackson
Excellent book on the financial crisis with unique perspectives you are unlikely to find anywhere else. I enjoyed this book for the way it elucidates the major perspectives on the crisis, including Keynesian, monetarist, and Austrian economic theories, the latter being the author’s preference. The book critiques much of the mainstream thinking on the crisis, with a particular emphasis on our favorite Nobel laureate Paul Krugman. I now feel I will be able to read Krugman’s columns with more understanding, but not with any less exasperation!
– Heather Veinott