History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling money and its issuance.
The New Year will be very challenging for all of us. The financial crisis is getting worse and seemingly no solutions are in sight. However, there are solutions and practical ones at that. But vested interests – the Shadow Money-Lenders have through the global mass media deliberately confused the issues and cover-up the real causes of the present global financial tsunami. If we are serious about finding solutions, the three books recommended herein will be indispensable to our understanding of the challenges and what is needed to be done.
This Week in January
1. Jesús Huerta De Soto
Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles
(FF: This is the “financial bible” and the author succeeds admirably where so many have failed to explain in simple terms why and how financial bubbles are created and why the present crisis is the inevitable outcome of unbridled credit expansion by the system of fractional reserve banking. We cannot devise a new international financial architecture, if we fail to appreciate the inherent flaws of fractional reserve banking.)
This Month in January
1. Murray N. Rothbard The Mystery of Banking
(FF: If bankers do not themselves understand how monies can be created out of thin air, what more the average Joe Six-packs! Anyone reading this book cannot come away without being shocked and angry by the audacity in which banks commit fraud throughout the history of banking. If political leaders do not understand the banking system, they will forever be in the clutches of bankers.)
The History of Money and Banking in the United States
(FF: Not everyone is interested in history, but if we are unaware of our past pitfalls, we will certainly repeat them again. However, the manner in which the book is written is such that, one can skip the first three parts and plunge straight into debate regarding the Gold-Exchange Standard (Part 4) and the New Deal and the International Money System (Part 5) without losing too much sleep. The three books reviewed herein are inter-linked and this book is the last word on the need to do away with fiat money.)
2. Jack Trout In Search of the Obvious
(FF: Recently, I wrote an article on common sense. I explained that my crystal ball in anticipating the crisis is called “Common Sense”. When we are in a mess and almost everyone is groping in the dark and confused, what is most critical is the ability to think and apply common sense to resolve problems practically. The author shows how problems can be solved by simple solutions so long as we do not allow ourselves to be distracted by information overload and blind-sided by “fad of the month thinking”. This is a must!)
This Week in December
1. Thich Nhat Hanh
The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching - Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy and Liberation
(FF: Thich Nhat Hanh was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the late Dr. Martin Luther King. Lesser mortals were awarded the prize instead. If there is a person which we must emulate in living a life of peace and promoting peace, it must be Thich Nhat Hanh. If one is looking for a road map to achieving inner peace, look no further. This is it! I have read it so many times, yet each time is as refreshing as the first time.)
This Month in December
1. Marcel A Boisard Humanism in Islam
(FF: My personal reading experience on Islam has been enriched not so much by Muslim scholars who seem to have difficulties in articulating the essence of Islam to non-Muslims but by non-Muslim writers such as the author. When the essence of Islam and the faith of its adherents is reduced to whether a particular form of exercise would jeopardize an adherent’s faith, a re-reading of this groundbreaking book reveals how much Islam has to offer to the world, absent bigots and dogmatists.)
2. Paramahansa Yogananda How You Can Talk With God
(FF: Since when I was a kid, I had always held the view that praying is having a conversation with God. This great Guru shows how we can be intimate with God and that our prayers should not be the mechanical repetition of the Holy Scriptures and other sacred writings. If you want your prayers to be answered read this book.)
The Science of Religion
(FF: Science and Religion are not opposing Forces – one is right and the other is wrong. 5,000 years ago, while the world was still in the dark age, Hindus were exploring the hidden mysteries of the universe and the true meaning of God. This booklet is a Hindu’s perspective on the inter-relation between religion and science. Reading this booklet continues to clarify for me the question, Who Am I?)
Reading the above books have not altered my faith in anyway. The experience gained have enriched my life.
This Week in November
1. Anne Norton
Leo Strauss and the Politics Of American Empire
(FF: To understand the last ten years of the G.W. Bush Presidency and the next five years of US Foreign Policy, this is an indispensable book)
This Month in November
1. Charles Holt Caroll Organisation of Debt into Currency and Other Papers
(FF: The author died in 1890 but his Essays on debt and currency are more relevant than ever. If there is a need to explain why fractional reserve banking must be outlawed and replaced with 100% banking, this is the best book on the subject)
2. John Kenneth Galbraith The Economics of Innocent Fraud
(FF: By accepting uncritically “Conventional Wisdom”, we are accomplices to the fraud perpetrated by those who control the banks and the corporations and their tentacles over governments. It is more convenient to accept approved beliefs than to face reality. The author has in this short essay shown us how to escape the mental straight jacket)
3. Etienne de la Boetie The Politics of Obedience
(FF: This great essay was written when the author was a law student at the University of Orléans in 1553. The brilliant core insight is that tyranny triumphs and survives only because of general acceptance for whatever reason. Withdraw the acceptance and tyranny will collapse. It was Boetie who expounded the idea of civil disobedience as a method for overcoming tyranny. Gandhi was the modern follower of his teachings. Brilliant!)
“It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.” – Henry Ford
