An errily true book about America's transformation from democratic republic to theocracy over the last several decades. ( )

its incredible how accurately this book predicted the current economic realities we are currently experiencing , It was written over 3 years ago. This book makes credible arguments that oil and religion have been the focus of our politics at the cost to the american people. I mean , we went into Iraq for Oil and we didn`t even get it ...the chinese won the first contract. The direction and political decisions influenced by religion is staggering and scary. A worthwhile and eye-opening read. This book will not make you happy. It points out the ugly truths and trends in America which could lead to its demise. And the downside of the book is that there were no solutions ventured forth . I for one believe that with the new President and congress some of the issues this book sheds light on , Obama already repealed some of the religious fueled policies of Bush and we have our first study FDA approved trial of stem cells therapy. I believe that Obama`s focus , unlike the oilmen Bush and Cheney , is truly to ween us off of Oil and I believe the economy meltdown has put market forces back to work in the right way for that to happen. As far as the economy and debt , The economic recession has also radically changed the corporate financial landscape , Obama will push through more regulatory oversight to prevent such recurrence and we as Americans have no choice but to become savers not spenders and one can see this happening now as more and more retail stores shut down , and businesses cut back. We may raise our National debt in the short term but I feel that the painful corrections at home and in business are well under way. There is hope. ( )

Phillips' articulates the concerns of many Americans that are troubled by the current blending of American religion and democracy. He moves on to assess the dangers oil diplomacy and excessive national and household debt. This book was written before the current home mortgage crises, but it clearly predicts that the real estate boom spurred by the Federal Reserve cannot continue. That now appears to be an easy prediction to make. So why weren't the bankers smart enough to anticipate it?

Read in April, 2007 ( )

One of the best non-fiction books I have ever read. A Nixonite Republican bemoans the overtaking of his party by southern religious extremists. He describes how the depletion of world oil reserves, debt, and the placing of religion over science in our education system is leading to the end of the American Empire as we know it. Full of historical comparisons. I read this during the great financial melt down of 2008. In the end its the fault of every American. We want something for nothing and we elected a fool (twice) who told us what we wanted to hear. ( )

Very interesting section on debt. Lots of interesting statistics and what seemed to be solid conclusions. The problem was I'm not sure I can trust them given the holes in the preceding sections.

Section on oil was a bit alarmist, as he unjustly places oil far above all other commodities. Much of what he says about oil is true of any resource that is needed for survival, but unlike food stuffs, oil is not quite a necessity. This was overly apparent when he attempted to prove American obsession with oil prior to the rise of the automobile.

Also, he fails to recognize the economic reality that just as oil rose quickly to dominate the marketplace, so too another replacement could just as easily rise in a free market, penetrating as thoroughly and unexpectedly in a way that would seem to us as unlikely as the rise of oil distribution seemed in America in 1900.

Section on religion was horrible--he blurs the distinction between Evangelical and fundamentalist as suits his foreordained anti-conservative argument. Essentially, he wants to use statistics to show that fundamentalists are everywhere in America, so he conflates fundamentalists with Evangelicals, while tightening the definition of fundamentalists to radical conservatives--a major error, especially since the more radically conservative an American is, the more likely they are to abandon the Republicans for a truly conservative party. ( )