Clever but disappointing

Anton deserves praise for writing a book which pulls no punches about the causes of the failure of the American 'experiment'. However I have 3 complaints.

Firstly the book is too polemical for my taste, it may be heavily annotated but listening to it I doubt it. I would prefer something a bit cooler and more clinical.

Second the book is too narrow, the petrodollar hooked American manufacturing up to a cyanide drip but it isn't even mentioned. any understanding of what's coming should include the contradictions but into American economics and infrastructure.

Third the book fails at a critical point: what should be done. Anton's idea is basically that (to use an analogy) yes the dam failed in the 70s but if we go back and rebuild the dam exactly as it was then, despite having far less resources and support now, we will some how be able to keep it from failing again. This is obviously farcical but the emotional pain of realising you live in a society that literally cannot be saved, much like coming to terms with the mortality of a beloved parent, must be recognised as an enormous obstacle for even very clever men.

if you a clueless as to why America is falling by all means read this book, know though it is not a complete answer by any means. If you want to know what to do about it then move on friend move on.

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1 person found this helpful

Mildly disappointing

Came across as more of a screed than I expected. I don't disagree with much in the book but I felt bored by its presentation as a continuous stream of laments. was surprised by the implicit NIMBYism and apparent Malthusianism at times. Still a fan of the author

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