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  • The New Empire of Debt: The Rise and Fall of an Epic Financial Bubble

The New Empire of Debt: The Rise and Fall of an Epic Financial Bubble Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

William Bonner (Author), Addison Wiggin (Author), Sean Pratt (Narrator),
4.4 out of 5 stars (148)

In the last half of 2008, the Empire of Debt received the margin call from Hell. Now, all of its citizens are asked to pay up as the U.S. economy stumbles down a dangerous path of financial turmoil. What exactly went wrong?

When things are good, people tend to believe the most outrageous things - that the financial sector could get rich by lending money to people who couldn't pay it back, and that a whole economy could flourish by luring consumers to spend more than they could afford. These hallucinations created an immense worldwide bubble of debt and dollars. And now - with the U.S. government inflating the biggest bubble in public debt the world has ever seen - a financial whirlpool has formed and threatens to drag the entire country down the drain.

In The New Empire of Debt, the internationally acclaimed author team of William Bonner and Addison Wiggin return to reveal how the epic financial bubble that is plaguing the United States will soon bring an end to this once great empire. They offer a frightening look at the United States' precarious position and discuss how government control of the economy and financial system - combined with unfettered deficit spending and gluttonous consumption - has ravaged the business environment, devastated consumer confidence, and pushed the global economy to the brink. They warn of the dangers that lie ahead and offer practical advice to protect your financial well-being as the American empire collapses upon itself.

You'll discover that you don't have to tie your own fate to the inevitable destruction of America's system of imperial finance. Instead you can take some simple steps to weather the crisis. Bonner and Wiggin have been studying the financial landscape for more than 20 years. Now, they not only show you how we got into this mess, but how to get yourself out of it.

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  1. Listening Length
    15 hours and 34 minutes
  2. Author
    William Bonner, see all
  3. Narrator
    Sean Pratt
  4. Publication date
    November 19, 2009
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Gildan Media, LLC
  7. ASIN
    B002Y2Q9CA
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
Next slide of product details

Product details

Listening Length 15 hours and 34 minutes
Author William Bonner, Addison Wiggin
Narrator Sean Pratt
Audible.com Release Date November 19, 2009
Publisher Gildan Media, LLC
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B002Y2Q9CA
Best Sellers Rank

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
148 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

  • Dr John Monroe
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, an eye opener, should be compulsory reading in schools and for all our politicians
    Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Basically the book emphasizes the absurdity and inevitable collapse of all societies which live beyond their means. It shows the exponential increase of US government and private debt and stresses how the monies for the high standard of living in US and the other Western societies are borrowed from much poorer but hard working Asian countries. At the same time in order to control this huge debt the US just prints more and more monies without any cover in real wealth and without producing anything of real value. This of course cannot continue forever and the collapse (remember Weimar republic) will follow, sooner or later. However our politicians, Husein Obama included, do not seem to care and just do their best to postpone the inevitable by borrowing and printing even more monies; of course the longer the real "adjustment" is postponed, the greater the ensuing disaster for all of us. There are a lot of historical references and the parallels with past collapsed empires including the Roman and British empires are obvious. Unfortunately we are all too happy to close our eyes to the inevitable despite the fact that we all know that we are all paid a high wage by a economy which really produces nothing of real value: everything is made in much poorer asian countries, but its' citizens work much harder for lower pay and quickly learning, until they will suddenly refuse to support our parasitistic way of life.
    11 people found this helpful
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  • photondn
    5.0 out of 5 stars good book
    Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2009
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    The New Empire of Debit offers an interesting perspective that through sheer global influence the United States is practically an empire. And by being in empire, the rules that applied to previous empires apply to the United States. And, the mistakes that lead to the fall of empires somewhat applied to the United States. It is interesting that the problems the United States had were very similar to that of previous empires.

    One of the interesting parts of the book is that it zeroes in the history of President Wilson. I was quite surprised about this because this book is not a political book; it is more of an economic book.

    I did not agree with everything in the book but for the most part the book was a good read. The book is more historical than current event. If you know little about the history of empires and like a good primer, this is maybe the book for you. I would recommend this book for those who seek a good understanding of current economic events.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Bruce
    4.0 out of 5 stars Bonner is so-so, but Addison Wiggin is the go to guy for knowledge about the long term end game. Highly Recommended.
    Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2015
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    If you don't understand why Greece is in deep trouble or believe it can't happen to the USA. You should read this book with an even handed open mind.

    Otherwise you will learn exactly what a "Bail-In" is the hard way.

    This book is cheap compared to that.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Richard Cromwell
    5.0 out of 5 stars Changed my Thinking in a Fundamental Way
    Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2011
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    I first read this book immediately when the first edition was published in the fall of 2005. I have given 4 copies away, and own two hard copies and the Kindle version of this second edition. This book was the beginning of a very fundamental shift in my thinking, and that was at the age of 48 (I'm now 54), not when people generally change their ways. I had been raised a conservative, but was largely becoming totally disillusioned with the modern Republican way of thinking. Then, voila, I read this iconoclastic book and began to realize that I was not the only one thinking this way. It's ok to question what we have learned in the past (much of it in public schools) and this book will help you to do that in a very entertaining and deadly incisive manner. Also, I have read all of Bonner and Wiggin's books, and they are all very good, but in my opinion, this one is great.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Michel Charbonneau
    3.0 out of 5 stars The New Empire of Debt: The Rise and Fall of an Epic Financial Bubble
    Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2009
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Good summary of the financial problems currently facing the USA and of the Imperial role that this country has assumed in the World since the end of WW2.

    The statistics provided, however, seem a bit biased as they do not seem to be related to the growth of GDP.

    A useful sequel would be a detailed review of the stakes of Japan and China in this situtation; OK they have lots of US financial assets and they can dump the US dollar, but if they do, won't they also dump their own export oriented economies?

    Fundamentally,aren't current economic problems simply due to the fact that the share of labour income as a proportion of total production is constantly declining in the US and elsewhere? US consumers are too indebted to consume, Asian consumers are too poor to do so and The New Empire of Debt: The Rise and Fall of an Epic Financial Bubblenot used to do so.

    The fatalism displayed in this book is also depressing; the nature of humankind is to try to improve its environment, not let a marketplace (institutional framework) which produces unsatisfactory results function as it usually does.
    15 people found this helpful
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  • pilotSteve
    5.0 out of 5 stars seriously enjoyable read about a serious subject
    Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2009
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    The authors have written not only a well researched and thoroughly documented treatise on economics, history and money -- but they did so in a most enjoyable way! I kept finding myself wanting to read out loud their many pithy and clever 'punch lines' but realized they were enjoyable, clever and funny to me because of the context and background the previous paragraphs (and pages) they had so nicely lofted into my mind! Ah well, some punch lines were SO good that I just couldn't resist sharing them with family and friends. In the end, if said friends didn't understand what I was talking about, I kept recommending they get their own copy of this book. Its an excellent read. Nicely done, gentlemen! You kept me amused while educating me. Plus I had a heck of a good time while reading!
    23 people found this helpful
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  • Aiyah
    5.0 out of 5 stars well kept book
    Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2025
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    well kept book. Arrived on time
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Top reviews from other countries

  • John Meyer
    5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars despite the sometimes too glib commentary. The ...
    Reviewed in Canada on September 28, 2014
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    5 stars despite the sometimes too glib commentary. The authors really nail down many of the issues and document many of the corrupt players in our financial system. IMO they get the remedies wrong but this is a worthy reference.

    Cheers,
    John Meyer
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  • Andrew McGilvray
    5.0 out of 5 stars Witty, historical insight into the US’s position in the world
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2018
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Rather than a dry look at numbers and traditional political and economic theories, Wiggin and Bonner set the scene against a pattern of human organization that has repeated many, many times over history that we know of. The book itself is now “old” this updated version from 2009 but this also adds an interesting perspective of how things are continuing to develop in the intervening years. The global historical references on their own are fascinating for someone who has only the limited local redacted version of history. Many “aha” moments delivered with a dry, matter-of-fact wit.
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  • Ian Mansell
    5.0 out of 5 stars Scary, but interesting and true
    Reviewed in Australia on December 12, 2021
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    What an interesting book written from "outside" the government. It really makes the reader think about the mess America has gotten itself into. Things were OK when America was a republic with a positive balance of payments and not interfering in the rest of the world. How did America consider that invading Vietnam was going to work out well for them? And what about invading Iraq and Afghanistan? Neither war was a success despite all the money thrown at it, and it is this money that has had to have been borrowed from overseas as under the "global" economy jobs in America were being exported to the cheaper Asian countries. At some stage this money has to be paid back since it is not possible for America to continue borrowing its way out of trouble. As the Roman empire floundered under its pile of debt, as the British Empire dissolved due to debt incurred during the two world wars - how much longer can the American Empire last?
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  • Tim
    5.0 out of 5 stars A great read... Love It.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 24, 2012
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Bill Bonner has a way with words, sometimes I think he is trying to be funny in a serious kind of way, all these financial books are the same though, currency devaluation and buy Gold. Good advise in my reckoning.
    He always has a cheeky snippet on the last page in money week.
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  • Dragon57
    5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it! You see the world in a whole ...
    Reviewed in Canada on February 23, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Loved it! You see the world in a whole new way. Things that were puzzling now make sense from this perspective. And entertaining!
    Great read.
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