Rating: 
Summary: NAIL, MEET HEAD
Review: Notice how all the one-star reviews attack Krugman without attempting to to debunk what he says; they can't. Shoot the messenger all you want, his message remains just as true... and damning.
Rating:
Summary: Right Wing Response Tells All
Review: The venom spitting right wing response to Krugman's book is the surest indicator that he is, in fact, right on target. Recent events continue to show that this administration has lied to us about everything from war to tax cuts in order to further their "revolution." Krugman's main accomplishment is in showing us how they managed to get away with it for so long. I wish everyone in America could read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Krugman is correct
Review: Paul Krugman is the most informed, most serious and most accurate critic of the Bush administration. Unfortunately, given the results of the recent recall in California I think people do not listen to rational arguments, but instead vote with their gut. Paul Krugman is a very reasoned critic of Bush and comes to some extremely disturbing conclusions. This country is very much headed in the wrong direction if people continue to be brainwashed by reactionary forces. These reactionary forces have given tax cuts to the weathiest while doing nothing to provide services neccessary to everyday americans. These reactionary forces have increased commercialism and financial exploitation. They have also failed to make our country more secure from terrorism and have alienated the rest of the world.
Rating:
Summary: excellent book
Review: Paul Krugman is a breath of fresh air. He cuts through the White House 'spin' and shows the reader what is really happening behind the scenes with social security, taxes, corporate accounting reform, homeland security funding, etc... But most importantly, Krugman helps the reader understand how these policies will affect this country and its citizens for years to come. A must read.
Rating: 
Summary: Get Real
Review: Is there really anyone out there who in his heart of hearts REALLY believes that the recent economic slowdown and corporate malfeasance problems are George Bush's fault? Paul Krugman claims he does. I suppose it must take someone of Mr. Krugman's intellect and communication skills to take on such a tremendous lie. Perhaps some unvarnished facts are needed: 1) the tech bubble had already begun to burst before Bush took office - the stock market peaked in March 2000. 2) the recession started a mere two months after Bush took office - does PK really think that Bush managed to hurt the economy that quickly? 3) cutting taxes was certainly the right response to the impending slowdown, quibble as you may over the details and the resulting deficit. 4) of course, if you give across-the-board percentage tax cuts the "rich" will get more of a benefit in actual dollars since they pay many more dollars in taxes - God, is that a tired, disingenuous agrument! 5) almost all of the corporate malfeasance (Enron, Global Crossing, etc.) actually occurred under the Clinton administration and was only brought to light well afterwards. Doesn't PK know all this? He must. But he evidently has made use of his extensive education to twist reality to fit his preconceived views. It is all an artful deceit; an attempt to blame everything bad on the Bush administration simply because he knows in his gut Bush is bad. PK is definitely a smart guy, but he hasn't let that affect his opinions. I guess it has something to do with the difference between being smart and being wise.
Rating:
Summary: Krugman Is A Very Stupid Guy
Review: Krugman is a very stupid guy but he is no centrist. He is a leftist. He opposes the Bush administration because he knows what they're doing will be good for the country, not because he is a principled man; even his own mother thought very little of him according to family and friends. His columns speak to the unreality of today's America with the disdain and arrogance of a Princeton economics professor. His thesis, which appears to derive from an excess of prescription medications, is that the Bush Administration seeks to basically eliminate the 20th century--get rid of social security, medicare, unions, all of FDR's New Deal, etc., etc. If you are prepared to believe that load of crap, then you probably will like this book; it'll make you mad and your head will explode. On the other hand, if you possess even a scintilla of intelligence, then you will know that former Enron advisor, Paul Krugman, is a bloody fool and a true moron.
Rating:
Summary: Krugman is a very smart guy
Review: Krugman is a very smart guy but he is no liberal. He is a centrist. He opposes the Bush administration because he knows what they're doing, not because he is determined to hate Republicans. His columns speak to the reality of today's America with the authority of a Princeton economics professor. His thesis is that the Bush Administration seeks to basically eliminate the 20th century--get rid of social security, medicare, unions, all of FDR's New Deal and Kennedy/Johnson's Great Society, as well as all the social changes--in short, to return the US society and economy to an imaginary "perfect age", really the time of robber barons and anti-union thuggery. If you think only a commie could believe that, then you probably won't like this book, it'll make you mad and your head will explode.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific, Enticing Collection Of Krugman's Columns!
Review: Princeton economist Paul Krugman sits in the catbird seat to better view the massive socioeconomic and political changes that have washed over the United States and the world in the last decade. As a columnist for the New York Times he has consistently demonstrated an uncanny ability to see the larger picture in which specific social, economic, and poltiical events are meaningfully embedded. This collection of winsome and worldly columns gathered from those published over the last several years provide a telling snapshot of a system in change, in terms of its values, its mores, and its leaders. And it is in the depiction of these leaders, both in private and public life, that the reader senses the alarm and concern the author so earnestly conveys regarding the cultural changes sweeping over us. Krugman's columns comprise a collectively pessimistic view of people acting badly, selfishly, and with little regard for the welfare of the people from whom they derive their power, whether it be economic, social or political. And Professor Krugman reserves special scorn and sarcasm for George W. Bush, who he sees as a man who personally embodies the notion of incredibly bad leadership, and whose Bush administration takes on the power of a 'revolutionary' movement foisted on the unsuspecting public by public servants who neither respect the populace they serve nor hold the ideas of the current political system as legitimate. Indeed, for Krugman these knaves prancing in knights' attire are really radical zealots presenting themselves as much more moderate and practical denizens of change. HE reserves special scorn for their disingenuous stated policies on issues such as social security, which Krugman understands are based on a cooking of the books, and which are the direct result of forty years of ignorance and dissembling politics on both sides of the political aisle. Krugman's greatest strength is his savvy and knowing ability to meaningfully employ numbers and statistics in support of his articulations concerning the sorry state of affairs regarding our corporate and political leaders. HE waxes well on subjects as diverse as social security, as mentioned above, as well as on tax programs, the conscious and perhaps criminal manipulation of the stock market in the runaway 1990s, the federal budget and its priorities, and the sudden transformation of a massive budgetary surplus into an equally staggering deficit. Yet, alas, what really won my heart is Krugman's taking to task of his fellow media mavens, who in his opinion have fallen asleep on the journalistic beat, and have allowed many of the social, economic and political events of the last several years to pass unexamined, and by doing so have badly disserved the American public, who should, in his estimation (and mine) have been able to expect more from its designated watchdogs. This is a terrific book to carry with you, as each piece is fairly short and comprises a stand alone article which can be read nicely during a lunch break or while sitting in an airport terminal waiting for your luggage to magically reappear. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: The Truth
Review: As anyone of any intelligence must ackowledge, it is clear that those in the current administration are constantly lying covering up their mistakes playing the blame Clinton game while doing things that clearly make no sense in our current economic climate but which make plenty of sense for the rich oil tycoons in Texas, anyone else in the top 1% income tax bracket as well as the old good old boys the Bush team will hire. Krugman gives us facts and policy analysis. Bush and his administration simply do not. I especially love how conservatives attack anyone who questions the administrations policy in Iraq as unpatriotic. They simply must have forgotten the massive amounts of criticism thrown Clinton's way while we had our forces in Kosovo. Oh actually, ya' know what, the conervatives know that but will do anything to undermine people like Krugman and others who criticize their extremist agenda. Thank you Mr. Krugman for not insulting our intelligence and for
being honest.
Rating:
Summary: Required Reading
Review: It's clear that right wing zealots will be unhappy with this book. But Krugman tells the truth about their activities and motives. There is a right wing conspiracy underway in the US. Those of us who are regular NY Times readers have read many of articles in the past. However, the collection carries more weight than the individual articles could. This is a book that ought to be required reading in every economics, political science, and civics class given in the country.
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