Economic Warfare: Secrets of Wealth Creation in the Age of Welfare Politics [Hardcover]

One giveaway to "manufactured reviews" Is the number of reviewers who have never reviewed another book -- In the case of this book, the great majority of this book's reviewers have never reviewed another book.

very opinionated with few facts and figures. his views are very general and while I don't disagree with most of them, he should have backed them up with more documentation to prove his point. this book is very general and short. it's not horrible but not worth recommending.

This is an extremely well-researched and well-thought-out book that not only outlines the history and depth of the financial crisis facing our country today, but also includes specific, practical strategies and advice for turning around our economy and avoiding the complete meltdown of life as we have come to enjoy it.

Abdelnour points out how the actions of our nation's political leaders over the past 100 years or so have led to the current predicament we now face, and attempts to wake Americans up to the reality that the problem is much more serious than the government, media and academic institutions want anyone to believe.

This book is filled with truths that all Americans need to be aware of and start to deal with, such as:

* What Abdelnour calls The Socialist Fallacy: "the ridiculous notion that everyone should be paid 'fairly' instead of rewarded for the amount of risk they are willing to take with their own capital and resources."

* The fact that the recent Wall Street fiasco was not just "a con job," but even worse -- "An Inside Job" made possible only by our ever-increasing federal government's "legislative foray into social engineering" and constant over-reaching into areas never meant for career politicians, who consistently do more harm than good and steer our country closer and closer to the brink of economic disaster.

* How "Progressives have become a corrosive, corrupting influence on our society's framework. They have thoroughly infiltrated our academic institutions, infecting our youth with disdain for concepts like individual sovereignty, capitalism, and moral imperatives. They have compromised our political processes, pushing their government-is-god agenda and weakening our republic, devoid of even the smallest amount of common sense or reason."

* The chilling fact that "history clearly shows that governments that have tried to contain, regulate, or otherwise usurp capital have failed," and the author's observation that "only a mind with an envious, greedy perspective would consider punitively taxing the rich as a viable solution to our fiscal miasma."

However, after pointing out the how, what and why of the monumental economic troubles facing our nation today and into the future -- especially if we continue the destructive path we've been on for the past century -- Abdelnour displays his ever-optimistic outlook and goes to great lengths to detail many specific strategies for pulling ourselves out of this mess, stating his firm belief that "the future is challenging, but there are many opportunities."

This book is especially important for all entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs to read and understand, because in it Abdelnour shares his considerable experience and expertise for creating wealth. His very definition is instructive and empowering: "An entrepreneur is someone who solves people's problems on a profit margin."

He goes on to counsel entrepreneurs with powerful advice: "I believe that to create real wealth one must be willing to abandon one's limited thinking, remove the boundaries around our abundance, and stop outlining how it is to appear in our lives. Remember not to create boundaries and remember not to define the outcome. Most importantly, stop letting people who are motivated by jealousy and envy dictate what your limitations are."

And unlike the vast majority of small business owners who unfortunately are basically nothing more than self-employed wage earners who choose to concentrate their time and effort almost exclusively on providing a better product or service, Abdelnour fully understands and clearly states the true path to business success: "It is often how you market a product that determines sales volume more than the actual merits of the product itself."

At the heart of the author's message is his belief that "you do not change the world with your ideas, but with your actions. Ideas may inspire, but someone has to take action before the change occurs."

In this book, Ziad Abdelnour thoughtfully and skillfully exposes not only how our nation has gotten into the economic predicament we're currently in, but offers detailed solutions on how we can avoid total disaster. As he concludes: "I still have faith in the American people -- their determination, their ingenuity, and their ability to finally wake up to reality and change course. I firmly believe that they will."

I wish I could share the author's optimism. I'm not nearly as confident as he is that the entitlement-minded majority of Americans will somehow miraculously wake up and realize that we must abruptly and completely change the "welfare politics" course we're on in order to avoid a disastrous fate, or that any significant percentage of Americans will suddenly decide to focus on wealth creation instead of job creation; on fighting to live an extraordinary life instead of simply hoping for nothing more than an upper-middle-class existence.

Such a massive shift may be possible if the author gets his wish that this book "will become required reading at every business school and political think tank int he country," or if the ever-more-selfish and corrupt bankers, business leaders and career politicians who control our nation have a sudden and complete change in attitude and actions, but I'm not holding my breath.

Change does take place one person at a time, however, so I strongly encourage all Americans to read this book -- and take action on what the author teaches.