Rating: 
Summary: Much-Needed Wakeup Call
Review: Krugman has been a beacon of truth in some very dark days in American politics. Because he is an economist rather than a journalist, Krugman can expose the Bush administration's deceptions by doing the math and checking the sources. It's a rare talent these days, when most news reporting consists of little more than printing a quote from side A and an opposing quote from side B ("balance" accomplished!), with no regard for the objective truth of these claims.While the book is essentially a collection of Krugman's New York Times columns, I found it very valuable for seeing how various stories unfolded, from the growing awareness that California's energy crisis was in fact engineered by Enron traders "gaming" the system to the deceitful manner in which the Bush adminstration lured the country into the misguided and tragic war in Iraq. But more than anything, this book is not to be missed because of Krugman's excellent introduction, in which he explains how the Bush administration constitutes (in Henry Kissinger's term) a "revolutionary power" that will brook no compromise and will do anything (issue bogus terror alerts, out CIA agents, knowingly lie to the American public, etc.) to maintain and extend its power and ram its extremist agenda down our throats. The Great Unraveling is a much-needed wakeup call for the American public and an urgent and timely warning of the dangers the Bush administration poses to our cherished democracy.
Rating: 
Summary: There's No Crying In Baseball.
Review: Having disgraced itself the NEW YORK TIMES wants us to forgive and forget. Krugman's role is pitch man, which means he is supposed to be a stuffed shirt. He says whatever come into his head. Did we lose our way? Define "way."
America was on top but fell off. Sensible people like Chinese, Koreans and Japanese hold most dollars. Texans can't fight their way out of a paper bag. American morals make the world cringe. If you travel you will deny your citizenship. We can't sell bonds or buy oil.
Honesty demands that we respect hegemony of the Asian axis and the late arival of Germany-Russia. That's our world now - watching from the sidelines. If Krugman were a useful economist he would not mince words about it. America has no reason to be great and nothing to be great with. The New York Times is not a great newspaper because we are not a great nation. All the op-ed prose in the world won't get us back in the game.
Of course, writhing is inevitable and so are tears.
Rating:
Summary: A view from down under
Review: I live in New Zealand, and hadn't heard of Paul Krugman until he was interviewed late last year on the radio, to coincide with the release of the paperback version of this book. As a reader of "liberal" media, interested in ecology, and a strong opponent of the Anglo-American war in Iraq, much of what he wrote was vaguely familiar to me, and having heard the interview I knew I would be buying a book that I would mostly agree with! Not having read any of his articles this collection was all new to me. I enjoyed the way it was laid out - short, succinct and well written articles mostly concerned with making a single point, but making it well. It meant that I could pick up the book, read some of the items, and return to it at any time. I read the articles in reverse order sometimes, to see how the latter articles arose out of the earlier ones, and how prescient his analysis has been. There just doesn't seem to be anywhere that events have caught him out.
I write this now as Bush is pushing to cut back Medicare and Social Security, just as Paul predicted several years ago. Having deliberately engineered a fiscal crisis, Bush is using this as an excuse to make severe cutbacks in Medicare and Social Security. I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that Bush and his coterie have quite deliberately pushed America to the financial brink to achieve these long held ambitions, and that Paul is right, this is a revolutionary conspiracy. The right-wing's hatred of "government" has long been a bizarre (from these shores) but previously marginal part of US politics, but now these people have a power and a president sympathetic to these aims, and they are determined to use this opportunity. The trouble is, that in pushing America to the brink there is a very good chance that America will be pushed over the brink, and the economic repercussions of this will affect us all, even down here on the backside of the world.
Paul Krugman comes over in his writing as a politically middle-of-the-road, thoughtful and humane person. In his politics, in almost all other comparable countries, Paul would be seen for what he is, a conventional liberal, no different from a myriad other liberals who inhabit more fortunate countries like Canada, France, Sweden, new Zealand etc.,- countries which, by and large, have managed their economies just as well as America, and with a good deal more security for the ill, the old, the poor and the racially different, and to the environment. But being a liberal in America would seem to be a dangerous and nearly treasonable occupation, judging by the reaction of the some of the "reviews" here and by the sort of infantile talk of Bush, such as "If you're not with us, you must be against us", exactly the same reasoning used by all despots since time immemorial.
Criticisms of the book? Well, the articles can be repetitive. I think Paul should have used the opportunity of a book format to expand some of his arguments, with more actual figures to back his theses, graphs etc. For instance, he could have given more background to the pharmaceutical legislation that he is so critical of. References would have been useful, and certainly nowadays, internet references. Whilst many readers might not wish to bother with this, Paul is after all a professional economist and must be used to providing this sort of information. It would also be useful for the more politically active.
Also I think Paul could widen the scope of his research and writings. For instance, what are the economic consequences of the conservative's undermining of the United Nations, or their protectionist policies? What is the actual cost and socio-economic cost and consequences of the Iraq war? What should be the US's relationship with China, bearing in mind the trade imbalance and the rising economic power of that country? Also an occasional break from Bush bashing would make for variety, for instance what about planning and transport economics, and our own individual reponsibility to live within our means? What are the likely economic costs of the housing bubble? After all, Bush doesn't exist in a vacuum, he is the product of the wider consumerist society which so far has taken little heed of the blindingly obvious problems ahead - I am thinking here about the environment in particular. So an examination environmental economics would prove very interesting and informative. It is my opinion that Bush notwithstanding, and Bush's economic mismanagement is equalled by his appalling environmental record, that global warming, the unsustainable pillaging of the earth's resources, the oil peak, unsustainable agricultural practices etc. are, ultimately, going to prove a much more intractable, painful and salutary lesson for mankind than any amount of stupidity from a devious and dishonest American president.
Rating:
Summary: Radical, Alarming, and Probably True
Review: Krugman starts his book with a bang. He tells us of "Revolutionary Power," the notion of a government that doesn't accept the current system's legitimacy and doesn't follow the usual rules. Although the concept was first written of in regard to 19th century Europe and the author of the idea was a doctoral candidate in 1957 named Henry Kissinger, the description struck Krugman as remarkably similar to what is happening today in America.
It seems that the Revolutionary Power acts so out of line with normal diplomacy and politics that other nations and individuals don't realize how radical the RP is. Even when it is increasingly obvious what is going on, people refuse to believe it. The few critics will be dismissed as shrill or hysterical or as conspiracy theorists.
Of course, Krugman thinks the current administration may well be a Revolutionary Power. He describes how they (in his view) are turning diplomacy on its head with notions of pre-emptive war and unilateralism. Domestically, he believes that our RP is running huge deficits in order to make Social Security impossible to fund.
The Great Unraveling consists mostly of previously published columns, arranged by topic. This makes the text a bit jumpy, since he skips from the year 2000 to 2003 and back again, depending on the subject.
Krugman makes a pretty good case for his claims and he explains even complex topics, such as the Enron scandal, and George W. Bush's Harken shenanigans, clearly and concisely. And he brings a calm, rather conservative attitude to some seemingly outrageous ideas. What seems outlandish coming from someone like columnist Ted Rall, for instance, seems perfectly reasonable when the economist Krugman says it.
Possibly radical, certainly alarming, and definitely a worthwhile book.
Rating:
Summary: Superb read.
Review: What a relief to read a book by an economist that tells the American public the truth. I, for one, am tired and angry with the half-truths and blatant lies the administration is feeding to us. The media is cowed by this president and his band of pirates. That the media lets itself be used as a political pawn is amazing; they would never have done this for Clinton.
This book is a superb read for the many who want to be truly educated on the economy and the looming deficits. Much of what is written in the news is murky and obfuscating. As Krugman points out, these reporters are not trained economists , therefore they can't make heads or tails of what is happening.
Add that to the fact that these reporters are hesitant to be critical of Bush, fearing their access to the White House will be cut off.
For those who read the New York Times religiously and look forward to Krugman's column, this book is a must have. Also recommeded is Eric Altermann's What Liberal Media and Craig Unger's House of Bush, House of Saud.
Rating:
Summary: A scholarly view of Bush's policies
Review: They say that hindsight is 20/20. When you look through this collection of past columns from the NY Times by Krugman, one can see that he is adept at analyzing political policies and seeing their shortcomings. It is too bad that the Bush Adminstration does not perform this same type of analysis before making their ill conceived decisions.
Rating: 
Summary: EGOMANIACAL RANT
Review: If you want the gist of this book, just go to the NYT archive and pull up a few of his op-eds. The book is very repetitive and obviously outdated.
Kruggy was a well paid con$ultant for ENRON as they were scamming investors and Enron employees, most of whom lost their life savings. He even pumped up the company in a Fortune magazine article, favorably comparing it to Goldman Sachs.
I hope the hate this egomaniac is spewing doesn't incite violence. Following this puppetmaster is suicide.
Rating: 
Summary: pesky little accusations
Review: Okay, quite a few people have wrote comments that are ridiculously annoying - what's up with the sole focus on Krugman's past as a consultant for Enron. If you cared to dig a little deeper you would have realised that he did not profit from the cheating nor knew about the accounting turmoil within the company. Now, contrast that with Bush's deliberate (and successful) attempt to profit from bogus accounting KNOWING fully well what was being done. If you can't even see the difference here, then you certainly shouldn't be making simple-minded accusations.
Rating:
Summary: EGOCENTRIC HACK TEACHES HATE
Review: The mighty Enron consultant tells us who to blame. Instead of being part of the solution, he encourages us to hate. Yes, he promoted his employer Enron in a Fortune magazine article, favorably comparing it to Goldman Sachs. Mr. Krugman knows where his bread is buttered.
The book is a poorly written rehash of op-eds from the elitest newspaper that gave Jayson Blair free reign. Paul Krugman is a sly and dangerous demagogue.
Rating:
Summary: Krugman-The Ultimate HyperCritter
Review: The sky is always falling in Krugman's ass-umption's about America's economic future, especially when a right wing Republican sits in the Oval Office. Kruggy hates George Bush, Junior with a passion. This is to be expected coming from such a flaming liberal like Pauly Boy!
In this book Kruggy attacks the Enron debacle, but he doesn't tell his readers that he was on Enron's "payroll", getting
$ 50,000 for "consulting" services, while promoting Enron in a FORTUNE magazine article, before the proverbial crap hit the fan in 2001 with the great unraveling of EndRun. Kruggy is swimming in the same toilet with the Big Bad Bush he whines about all the time via his book(s) and op-eds in the NY Times.
While Paul has the educational credits and sheepskins, he comes off as a book "smart" dude who can't: read a simple road map; tie his own shoe's; zipper up his own pants; keep his foot out of his mouth...
The major fraud that Corporate America was pulling on American investors before Enron was unraveled in 2001 was alive and thriving during the 8 loooong years of the Bubba Clinton era as POTUS. Bubba was the King of executive liars whether they be CEO's of the FORTUNE 500+ or CEO of the US of A.
Let's face it citizens BOTH Democrats and Republican's holding political office, liberal or conservative, owe that office to BIG donators of their campaigns. These donators include the BIG Drug, Insurance, Oil... BusyNesses. Is it any surprise that these politician's have yet to pass a decent Health Care Plan, no matter that 40+ million American's have zero health care insurance since 1992, and pay 2+ times more than the citizens of Canada for the same drugs!
Pauly Boy rants on about Bush and the right wing Republican party, butt Clinton did nada to improve health care, even when the Democrats had a majority in Congress. Hillary failed to give us a decent health care plan in 1992, not entirely her fault cause Congress ain't going to pass such legislation and upset Big Drug/Insurance companies.
The rich get richer, and we are becoming more a nation of have and have nots. The blame rests with ALL politicians who have held office past and present in the executive and legislative branch of government. The media ain't no help with clowns like Krugman who only promote their own agenda's and self(ego) interests. In this book, how many times does Pauly Boy pat his own back and behind? The answer is - GOBS of times!
|
