Publisher's Weekly Review
In 2008, Rickards, an investment banker with extensive experience in hedge funds, was invited to participate in a seminar sponsored by the Department of Defense, which examined the safety of U.S. sovereign wealth funds in the case of economic warfare. As Rickards explains, "Sovereign wealth funds are huge investment pools established by governments to invest their excess reserves." He participated in further seminars that addressed the impact of futures markets, derivatives, and more, on strategic commodities such as oil, uranium, copper, and gold. Rickards's first book is an outgrowth of his contributions and a later two-day war game simulation held at the Applied Physics Laboratory's Warfare Analysis Laboratory. He argues that a financial attack against the U.S. could destroy confidence in the dollar. In Ricards's view, the Fed's policy of quantitative easing by lessening confidence in the dollar, may lead to chaos in global financial markets. Possible strategies for dealing with such a situation include a return to the gold standard. Though the book will no doubt interest policymakers, even non-experts will be rewarded for their efforts. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
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Booklist Review
Rickards, experienced financial adviser, investment banker, and risk manager, tells us we are in a new currency war that could destroy faith in the U.S. dollar; he examines that war through the lens of economic policy, national security, and historical precedent. As a national security issue, he tells a fascinating story of his involvement with the Pentagon and other agencies in designing and participating in a war game using currencies and capital markets, instead of ships and planes, to gain early warning of attacks on the U.S. dollar. The author concludes that mainstream economists and central bankers alike are well aware of dollar weakness and the risks to international monetary stability from the new currency wars. He sees four prospects for the dollar multiple reserve currencies, special drawing rights, gold, and chaos. Rickards' ideas are controversial and will attract support and criticism across many disciplines. Nevertheless, he presents a compelling case for his views and offers thought-provoking information for library patrons. This is a must-read book.--Whaley, Mary Copyright 2010 Booklist
