Hey Redflare! You have a great business and its awesome that you contribute to the forum here!

I have not read that book yet but I have been meaning to check it out of our local library. Noticing the publication date I think the author's approach is valid. It appears it was written before most of the major indicators of a "credit crisis" were apparent. I have read Heinburg's "the party's over" and "power down" on similar topics and my wife and I felt a great awakening in 2006-2007.

While I always admire the courage of good scepticism in the other comments here and their advice on investing is valid, I would like to add my own experience. My wife and I have tried to plan for the worst and hope for the best when it comes to our economic situation. After reading a number of books, news articles and research from dozens of legitimate sources we realized we needed to make some changes to minimize our risk. Our strategy is mostly in line with current investment advice but with a cynical instead of optimistic planning perspective. I'd like to hear any criticism on our decisions as well to balance my perspective. Our goals were as follows:

1. Eliminate our debt. (We cashed in our retirement (we are only in our mid to late twenties though so its not as critical) and paid off the student loans/car loans).
2. Minimize our living costs by owning shelter. (We currently rent but we are saving about 50% of our income for very small home on a small bit of land we can afford).
3. Minimize our dependance on oil. (We moved closer to work, sold our only car and purchased used bikes).
4. Invest in food and water: storage and processing (e.g. grain mill and water filters to hedge against any short term food/water inflation and prepare for emergencies in complement to our bug-out plans).

Good luck Red Flare! Addiction to oil is a tough habit to kick. Withdrawals honestly weren't bad as an individual but as a society/nation I am concerned that oil withdrawals could be disastrous.

Cheers,
Nemo.

Edit to include this Caveat:

And in case you are wondering, no my wife and I are not "survivalists". We don't have a "bomb shelter" or a teepee in the woods. We are hard working citizens of the U.S.A that just want to minimize our risk and be as independent and prepared as we can be.