Sunday, June 29. 2008
Amended Thursday, June 14, 2018
Many different types of literature may contain wisdom; I’ve finally been able to read a book by Jim Rogers, Adventure Capitalist, the story of his “drive around the world”; Mr. Rogers, after running a hedge fund and becoming fairly wealthy, decided to see the world by driving through it. The book is a story of his adventures driving through a lot of the out-of-the-way areas of the world, traveling with the woman who would become his wife, and a camera crew and internet web updating staff… they would surely have their own tale to tell. The beauty of this book, though lies in the blending of macroeconomic and personal stories. When the economic system of communism collapses, how do people cope? When things go wrong in an economy, why is it? Why do politicians do what they do, and why does that sometimes make the problems worse? Why does it seem that corruption and greed is the standard of behavior practically everywhere, especially in the levels of government? Yet in the world you meet many friendly and good people as well.
This book was about a journey of the soul, blended with an open eye for investment opportunities, and a broad view of how economies and people interrelate. A tour of 116 countries, viewed not from 30,000 feet but from ground level, led Rogers to several compelling conclusions:
The growth of China and India leads to a long-term bull market in commodities;
The twenty-first century will belong to China (written in 2001-3, we see his foresight today);
The borders of many countries simply do not make sense;
NGOs, IMF, World Bank are simply scams.
Yes, this book was published twenty years ago, but the insights still live, and the story is still thrilling. Pick a copy of this book up at your library or bookstore, or from Amazon online; it’s a highly recommended read.