Survival+: Structuring Prosperity for Yourself and the Nation

by Charles Hugh Smith

This indispensable guide to the next twenty years of global turmoil and transformation weaves the full spectrum of disciplines--history, political economy, ecology, energy, marketing, investing, health, and the psychology of happiness--into a uniquely comprehensive understanding that offers every thinking person practical principles for not just surviving but prospering in the difficult decades ahead.

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, Ebooks, Survival

406 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2009

Reviews

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Because, young Borg, your interest and that of the Hive to which you are registered are the same thing. Now get to work, because the Kings need your tax money.

[Chad Woolley · Rating 5 out of 5]

CHS is one of the few authors / bloggers who can see past the mainstream media and fascist status quo bread and circuses propaganda, and make truly insightful observations about the converging macro trends which will make the next decade or two very eventful.

I'm a longtime follower of his blog, so most of these themes first show up there. He's a hardworking honest writer who really engages with his readers, and is very open minded, often taking new ideas and insight from reader correspondence. I think this openmindedness and prolific correspondence is the source of the strength of his ideas. That's the meaning of the name of his blog/site - "of two minds". His, and his readers.

This book is good because rather than just pointing out the inevitable collapse of the status quo under its own weight, he gives some practical advice on how to be happy and thrive through it.

The largest criticism I have is his tendency to repeat himself, repeating the same theme multiple times in different ways. But, the ideas are good, and bear repeating, so I overlook it. H also keeps calling for the market re-crash, but it stubbornly refuses to happen. But it will :)

[Henry Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very eye-opening, and made me look at the world in a different way. It is very clear that Smith has done his homework, and he portrays a potential future world that I really enjoy. The time period of the book (right after the 2008 market crash) clearly made him pessimistic, but many of his assumptions still hold, though some of his doomsday predictions have not yet come to pass. He gives an insightful look into the corruption and imperfections of our society that the mass media hides. This book is like the economics course I wish I'd taken in college.

I loved the content, but I can't give this book a 5-star rating because it was poorly written. The text repeats itself many, many times; honestly, the book could have been 100 pages shorter if Smith removed the redundancies. The print is cluttered. Unlike many nonfiction books, he does not use hardly any anecdotes to illustrate his points, instead only giving dense explanation and analysis of his points. If Smith revised this book, it could be incredible.

[Another]

Didn't finish

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Survival+ gives a deeper, more accurate, and more complete explanation of the socioeconomic forces that drive society than anything I have ever read. CHS essentially does to sociology what von Mises did to the credit cycle with his Austrian economics. Not only will you understand what went down with the economy and society in the past ten years, you will also get the conceptual model (fiefdoms) to make educated guesses for what will happen in the next ten years. This is the strong point of the book. The last quarter contains ideas for what you can do personally.

[Shayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heavy book, and a good one to make you think about society and our possible reaction to the state in which we find it. In particular, does a good job exploring the proximal and ultimate causes of rampant consumerism and systemic inability to address the challenges of resource depletion and lack of accountability in our State. Big word warning!

[Gerry Flanagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up because of a recommendation on the blog "Extreme Early Retirement". Contains a lot of thought provoking ideas, but in a tedious format that reminds me of a political manifesto, like reading Marx. Frequently repetitive. However, it may also be important.

[Mike Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

While a comprehensive review of society's ills, and a philosophical look at solutions, the book is just difficult to read.