After a year of popularity as a free e-book download, I've decided to release The Money Suckers in paperback format, so that people who prefer to hold a book in their hands can do just that. by Walt Thiessen
(libertarian)
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Two years removed from the public unveiling of the financial crisis of 2008 by the powers-that-be and the subsequent TARP bailout of the biggest banks, I'm announcing today that I've released The Money Suckers, my novel about the financial crisis, in paperback form. It's now available online at both Barnes and Noble and Amazon.
The novel has been downloaded by thousands of people in e-book form at a steady rate over the past year, and all the reviews I've received so far from people who read it have been very positive. That fact made it easier for me to "take the plunge", so to speak.
Plot Summary
In the fictional story, Justin Knight, Vice-President of Operations at Hanover-Rush Bank, the largest bank in the world, is confronted by evidence of a secret conspiracy at the highest levels of the monetary and banking system. He sees a recording of a secret meeting that shows the crisis was planned well in advance by the country’s financial leaders, leading directly to his daughter’s kidnapping. The price for her return? The video and his silence! When a shadowy organization called the Agorist Underground rescues her, Justin must make a potentially life-changing decision. What will he do when faced with a choice between his conscience and his family’s safety? Simultaneously fast-paced and endearing, the story holds your attention from beginning to end, and the climax will make you want to cheer.
I began writing the novel in November 2008, motivated by a strong sense of frustration and anger at the way the crisis was being presented in the media, and it took me a year to complete it. My motivation came from the fact that clearly no one in the media, the government, or financial circles was going to examine or discuss the real, root causes of the crisis. Nor would they, therefore, come to the right conclusions about what should be done to fix things. Two years later, nothing has changed. Instead, the powers-that-be have focused strictly on foolish lending practices of the past, outright fraud in lending, and credit default flops (derivatives). While all of these events obviously did take place, I knew as any good follower of Austrian economics knows, that these were not the root cause of the crisis. They were merely the most overt symptoms.
Prophecy
The book may also prove to be prophetic, in that I took the opportunity as I wrote it to predict a second financial crisis in the fall of 2011. Two of the protagonists, Justin Knight and Paul Regan, tell a national TV audience about the 2011 crisis as the novel reaches its climax, to the horror of their colleagues within the banking industry. The two are, of course, branded as traitors and criminals, and they are forced to take their families into hiding as a result of their revelations.
We're currently one year away from 2011, and the only thing I see that could alter my prediction a little is that the crisis could be delayed by the slowness and reluctance of the big banks to lend out the free cash that was dumped in their laps. Even today, borrowers with top credit ratings find it difficult (sometimes impossible) to buy a new home, despite every effort by the Fed to lavish as much cash on the banks as humanly possible. Eventually, the credit "freeze" will unfreeze, and then we'll be back to the races again, heading toward the looming precipice.
Regardless of when the thaw happens, there will still be a crisis. Even if it doesn't come in 2011, it will come eventually. That's because of mortgage resets. Adjustable rate mortgages don't just reset their interest rates once or twice. They reset periodically throughout the life of the loan, and the loans in question are nearly all 30 year loans or longer.
Nor will the coming crisis be the last. As any student of debt-based money knows, you can only have so-called "prosperity" under debt-based money by further expanding the money supply, because money is created by banks making loans, and the resulting increase in the money supply eventually leads to corresponding higher prices. The moment that the money supply stops growing (or shrinks), you get recession or worse.
I wrote The Money Suckers so that the average person who understands nothing about the money supply, financial issues, economics, etc. can understand in very simple terms what really caused both the crisis of 2008 and every other financial crisis in the past 300 years, including the Great Depression. By inserting basic concepts into the dialogue of the story, even the most unsophisticated reader comes away from the book with an understanding of what we're really facing, as well as why the entire monetary system must one day, eventually, completely collapse from an economy awash in unending debt, while the money itself becomes virtually worthless.
Early Bird Special
To celebrate the book's release in paperback, I'm offering a special low price at the book's website: www.themoneysuckers.com. Amazon has marked the $25 list price down to $19, and Barnes & Noble are offering it at $18. So I'm one-upping them. For anyone who buys before November 1st, I'm offering the book at a price of $17.75 with FREE SHIPPING. With shipping and handling prices starting at around $4 at most online book retailers, this is essentially like getting the book for under $14.
The book is a great Christmas present idea for friends and family who don't really get economics and fall asleep whenever they're discussed. It's also a good read for the few who really do understand the issues involved. While these people won't necessarily learn much new in the book, they'll find the story to be very engaging and enjoyable.
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Posted By: creator
Date: October 27, 2010 02:54:57 PM
"The Moneysuckers" is a fast-paced and exciting read, PLUS it offers the big bonus of bringing the reader "up to speed" on the nature of the federal government's systematic financial fraud in a painless way.
I wish you great success in your paperback sales... this book would make an excellent "stocking stuffer" for anyone.
