Anyone that is interested in money, markets, global finance and economics for the purpose of protecting themselves from the actions of the people that are running the world must read James G. (Jim) Rickards new book, The Death of Money - The Coming Collapse of the International Monetary System.  I have read many books and listened to many voices of people that are extremely concerned about the actions taken by the US government, the Federal Reserve, European nations, the European Central Banks and many other national governments and central banks around the world.  The Death of Money does a great job of synthesizing all of the information and presenting it in a logical fashion.  The book puts into context many of the bits of information that have been presented by others and builds upon Rickards first book, Currency Wars.  I have watched many Jim Rickards interviews online during his promotional efforts for this book.  None of the interviews does the book justice.  There simply isn't enough time for Rickards to tell the full story that is presented in The Death of Money. 

Some of the basic information is understood by many of us.  The US government and Federal Reserve are on a path that will destroy the value of the US dollar.  The US government has $17 Trillion of debt and the debt is forecasted to increase rapidly in future years without fundamental change in US government fiscal policy.  The Federal Reserve is working feverishly to create inflation in an attempt to grow nominal US GDP so that the government can get enough tax revenue to service its debt.  Rickards describes the interplay between the US and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  Rickards explains the evolution of the IMF since its origins after World War II.  Do we really want the IMF to become the global central bank controlling the world's reserve currency, the SDR?

Rickards explains the current and possible expanded future role of gold in the global monetary system.  Despite the efforts of many leaders that desire a pure fiat money monetary system, gold remains an integral part of the global monetary system.  Gold is real money.  All the bankers know it.  But they hate it because gold as money requires financial discipline.  Politicians and central bankers don't want monetary discipline because it prevents them pursing ideology that is inherently financially undisciplined.

Rickards discusses the situation in China.  China is on a path to become more powerful in the world's decision making process and increasing its participation in the IMF.  However, China has made many major policy errors during its recent years of explosive growth.  What will be China's next moves?

Rickards makes clear that he doesn't have all the answers.  He can't tell us the exact day the dollar will crash.  He presents seven critical warning signs that we can evaluate every day.  Rickards identifies five areas in which one can invest in an attempt to preserve the purchasing power of one's assets. 

Rickards also explains that our government is preparing for civil unrest.  Once the US population fully understands the outcome of the governments action it is likely there will be violence.  Rickards view is that our government's approach to solving problems will be that "order comes before liberty or justice".

I have written many blogs and articles on this site about the issues discussed in The Death of Money.  Jim Rickards has done a great job of explaining how the pieces of the economic and financial puzzle fit together.  The major point of the book is that the worlds politicians and central bankers are running out of time.  They have made too many errors over many decades.  "The system is blinking red."

TPM

A few months ago I was looking for some new reading material and found two new books that had gold in the titles, Gold - The Race for the World's Most Seductive Metal by Matthew Hart and Gold Wars - The Battle for the Global Economy by Kelly Mitchell.  While the two book titles may contain a common word in their titles, gold, they are two very different and very interesting books.

Gold is a compilation of historical information and discussions of Hart's personal experiences visiting gold mining areas.  Much of Gold is about the social and environmental impact of gold mining in the US, China, South Africa and other countries in Africa.  Matthew Hart describes his visits to legal and illegal mining operations in Africa.  What does legal and illegal mining really mean in some African cultures?  Gold mining is very hard, dangerous work that is even harder and more dangerous when done by poor people without modern equipment.

Hart discusses some of the early history of gold.  He explains how the Spanish conquered and exploited Mexico and Peru for their gold and silver.  Hart is not a fan of gold.  He sees some positive aspects of gold as a historical monetary standard.  He clearly perceives that the pursuit of gold has created haves and have nots in many cultures.  It appears that Hart believes that the pursuit and holding of gold creates inequality.  Gold is an interesting book and offers some unique perspectives that most of us don't have from our personal experiences.

Gold Wars is a completely different book. "Gold Wars addresses the grotesque, growing and unsustainable imbalances in the financial system.  As rising gold prices betray the market's lack of faith in the economy a war on gold - to drive down its price - is taking place to hide the negative impacts of the fiat currency, shadow banking and central banking on the global financial system."
 
The most important part of Gold Wars are the sections of the book that discuss the ownership of the world's supply of gold.  Who really owns all of the world's gold (focused on monetary gold) and where is it located?  Have western central banks loaned their gold to bullion banks that have sold the gold to other central banks or extremely wealthy individuals?  Are there multiple claims to the world's monetary gold supply?

Mitchell presents the dangers inherent in today's world financial and monetary system. He explains how the "bankers" have taken over the world economy and increasing their control over our political system.

Much of the information in Gold Wars is available from a variety of other sources. Mitchell has done a very good job of assembling the information and presenting it in a logical manner.  I believe that most of the information in the book is accurate.  The question is what can be done to correct the imbalances that the "bankers" have created.  The "bankers" have assembled incredible power.  Will it take another massive financial system failure before the financial and monetary system become rational?  And what is a rational system in today's world?

Gold has been a store of value for thousands of years.  Men and women have lived and died in the pursuit of gold.  What will gold's role be in the future, a world of instant communications and electronic money?  One thing is clear.  The pursuit of physical gold is as strong a human emotion today as it has ever been.  Gold is money.  Gold is wealth.  It is built into the human DNA.

TPM