I finally read Enemy of the State and Wheels within Wheels this week.

Has anyone else read them recently? I am not really into politics, but I found it really creepy to read Enemy with all the economic stuff currently going on. Really creeped me out.

Anyone else?

I read the LaNague books within the last 4 - 5 years. Is that recent enough?

I read them before our real life economic meltdown and so, ultimately nothing that actually happened surprised me very much. Disgusted me, made me angry, yes, but surprised me - not so much. The books also steered me toward the political philosophy I could finally believe in.

How about the short story "Lipid Leggin'"? There's another case of FPW being more prophetic than I'm sure he ever wanted to be.

I purchased the new reprints of the LaNague core trilogy within the past year. Absolutely wonderful books. Tolive is my ideal world.

How about the short story "Lipid Leggin'"? There's another case of FPW being more prophetic than I'm sure he ever wanted to be.

That story went from science fiction to documentary since the time FPW wrote it.

I finally read Enemy of the State and Wheels within Wheels this week.

Has anyone else read them recently? I am not really into politics, but I found it really creepy to read Enemy with all the economic stuff currently going on. Really creeped me out.

Anyone else?

I have read and re-read them many times, and yeah; when you think about them and see what's going on around you today . . . it's scary.

Ken V.

I read Wheels within Wheels maybe a month ago. I was thinking along those lines.

But then again, political corruption is timeless. Wherever there are two or more people, there will always be some A-hole who wants to be in charge.

Just finished Healer this morning. Seems like the Federation worked well, but the events in Enemy have me very worried. It feels like we are headed down the same path at the moment, though I hope with a somewhat less devastating end.

Just finished Healer this morning. Seems like the Federation worked well, but the events in Enemy have me very worried. It feels like we are headed down the same path at the moment, though I hope with a somewhat less devastating end.

We can hope for less devastation. There's always hope. But Enemy is not just looking to be prophetic, it is also soundly based in historic fact.

All empires end. Always have, probably always will.

All fiat currencies fail, generally within 40 years. Always have, probably always will. The US dollar was taken completely off the gold standard by Richard Nixon in 1971, making it a fully fiat currency as of that date.

I've learned to stop worrying about it all and just prepare myself and my household as best I can for what is probably inevitable. If we're very lucky, the end of the American empire and the dollar's demise as world reserve currency will be relatively painless. More like the end of the British empire as the US was ascendant.

We had our turn. It's coming to an end now and China is ascending to soon be the wealthiest, most powerful nation on earth.

It doesn't bother me anymore. In fact, I'm sort of looking forward to it so that we can stop trying to live the lifestyle of an empire when we really can't afford it anymore. Once we can stop playing those games, we can start to put real energy and effort into real problems we have right here within our own borders.

We can hope for less devastation. There's always hope. But Enemy is not just looking to be prophetic, it is also soundly based in historic fact.

All empires end. Always have, probably always will.

All fiat currencies fail, generally within 40 years. Always have, probably always will. The US dollar was taken completely off the gold standard by Richard Nixon in 1971, making it a fully fiat currency as of that date.

I've learned to stop worrying about it all and just prepare myself and my household as best I can for what is probably inevitable. If we're very lucky, the end of the American empire and the dollar's demise as world reserve currency will be relatively painless. More like the end of the British empire as the US was ascendant.

We had our turn. It's coming to an end now and China is ascending to soon be the wealthiest, most powerful nation on earth.

It doesn't bother me anymore. In fact, I'm sort of looking forward to it so that we can stop trying to live the lifestyle of an empire when we really can't afford it anymore. Once we can stop playing those games, we can start to put real energy and effort into real problems we have right here within our own borders.

Well said Webby. It's an eye opener that as China moves to a more Capitalistic state it ascends, while we move closer to Communistic/Fascist state and descend. Also it's pretty obvious the U.S. is still the most powerful nation, but it could be argued that China has surpassed us as the wealthiest. That observation is not based solely on their ability to loan out money (but it's a big factor), but also from the average citizens lifestyle. If we take that into account, India is progressing in that direction also. IMO.

You're especially accurate about fiat currency.

Well said Webby. It's an eye opener that as China moves to a more Capitalistic state it ascends, while we move closer to Communistic/Fascist state and descend. Also it's pretty obvious the U.S. is still the most powerful nation, but it could be argued that China has surpassed us as the wealthiest. That observation is not based solely on their ability to loan out money (but it's a big factor), but also from the average citizens lifestyle. If we take that into account, India is progressing in that direction also. IMO.

You're especially accurate about fiat currency.

I thought you meant Ibsen's play...:eek::cornut:

I finally read Enemy of the State and Wheels within Wheels this week.

Has anyone else read them recently? I am not really into politics, but I found it really creepy to read Enemy with all the economic stuff currently going on. Really creeped me out.

Anyone else?

I just read it a couple weeks ago and agree that it seems to fit the time we live in. I also felt whomever wrote V for Vendetta, did it after reading this book.